E:A Vol 1 Ch 16—April 9, 2117

“Hey there,” John said when Victoria bridged into the control room. “Been worried about you. We were about to send the First Science Commander to see if everything was okay.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry, I thought the Chancellor sent a message…I’m fine, just had a touch of the flu…and things got kinda messy because my husband wanted to heal me and I wouldn’t let him… I’m still feeling a bit off, anyway…I thought Becket could run a scan and give me meds if I need them…I just don’t like my husband healing me because then he has to feed and…” she sighed, “Sorry, I’m babbling. But he doesn’t understand how much it hurts me when I know he has to feed just to…he has to feed, period. And I thought he sent First Science a message. I got my signals crossed.”

“I’m sorry, Victoria,” the First Science Commander said, “I did not receive a message.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled as Becket came running in when he heard that she had arrived after a two-day absence. He’d also been worried because during her last week, she was unusually quiet and didn’t hang around after her shift to have dinner with anyone.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She smiled, “Tummy’s still a little woozy but I’m fine.”

“Don’t worry us like that,” he chided.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I thought my husband said something to the First Science Commander.” She reached out and steadied herself by grabbing onto John’s arm. “Okay, maybe I should go back to bed, or did someone just make the room spin?”

“Let’s get her to the infirmary,” Becket said going to her side to help John with her. They had just made it through the infirmary doors when she dove for the nearest trash can and threw up her entire breakfast. Once she was steady again, she went to the staff’s private washroom to brush her teeth and gargle to get the horrible taste out of her mouth.

“What other symptoms have you had?” Becket asked as she used her finger to brush her teeth.

“Fever. Low grade, nothing major. Chills. Headache.” She spit, rinsed with water, then grabbed a bottle of mouthwash. “That was the first dizzy spell.”

“Coughing, congestion, anything like that?” he asked.

She finished gargling and spit out the blue liquid into the sink. “No.”

“Has the High Chancellor been sick? Or have you seen him long enough to know?”

“He’s fine. I don’t think Rayth actually get sick. Okay, I need to lay down, things are starting to spin again.”

Becket wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her to one of the infirmary beds. She rested back, slowly, eyes tightly shut. Becket started his physical exam and after one look in her right ear he looked at Janice, the head nurse, and ordered medicine. “Ear infection,” he said then checked her left ear, “double ear infection. No earache?”

“No. Everything’s spinning even in my head. Ears don’t hurt at all.”

“Janice will be right back with something to help that. Let me have a quick look at those emeralds of yours.”

Victoria sighed and opened her eyes. Becket did his check and let her close them again. “Okay, need you to sit up a little, Janice has the meds.”

With slow deliberate movements, Victoria managed to sit up, take the pills, and lay back down without getting sick again.

“Meds should kick in soon to stop the vertigo. I need to do my rounds. Janice and Lutia are here if you need anything.”

“Let the Commander know, please.”

“High Chancellor,” Becket corrected.

“I will,” Ja’val said. “I can also heal you.”

“No, no. Don’t want that. John, if you’re still here, I don’t want him healing me.”

“I’m armed,” John said, “don’t worry. Don’t think he’s intimidated by me, though. You rest. Glad you’re back. Come on, First, you need to call her hubby and I need to find my team. We ship out in an hour.”

“Things smoothing out between you two?” Janice asked as the men left.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Try to fall asleep. Meds should kick in any minute.”

The High Chancellor appeared in the control room later in the afternoon. The First Science Commander had relayed Victoria’s condition, that it wasn’t serious, she refused healing, and that she was sleeping.

“Infirmary, sir,” one of the control room technicians said as the High Chancellor headed toward him.

Be’atta saw him as he turned to walk down the corridor to the infirmary. It was the first time the Mythican team had seen him in his white uniform. “Looking good, Commander. Very nice.”

To her surprise he turned and smiled, only briefly, before entering the infirmary. The medical staff pointed him in his wife’s direction and he found her sitting in bed looking at her computer tablet. She recognized the sound of his heavy boots and long strides and looked up.

“You didn’t have to come,” she said.

“My beloved is unwell, I had to come.”

“Took you long enough,” she giggled. “You are so sexy in white.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I am sorry that I arrived late.”

“So you two are back on speaking terms,” Becket said as he walked up, having not heard Janice’s question to him earlier, “or is this for show?”

Victoria smiled, “We’re speaking,” she said then giggled again. “I can even speak some Raythian. Doesn’t he look good in white? I told him that. I liked him in the black, but he looks so good in white. And when…” she drifted into mumbling and fumbling with her computer tablet.

“Will she be able to return home?” Zy’nayth asked.

“As long as home isn’t spinning,” she replied. “This place has gotten all wobbly on me, and this computer is broken,” she said shoving it towards him. “I can’t work like this. Can I go home now?”

“Your computer is not turned on,” Zy’nayth replied and touched the button on the side of the tablet, then handed it back to her.

“I’d like to keep her overnight,” Becket said. “The vertigo has been pretty bad and I think the bridge trip might make that worse.”

“No more spinning. Bad. Oh! There it is,” she exclaimed as the tablet came on, “such pretty colors. I like colors. Look, I organized all of my files by color. Do you like it?”

“And she’s a little delirious. Side effect of one of the meds.”

Janice walked up and handed Victoria another round of medicine. Victoria took it then grabbed Janice’s arm, “Isn’t he sexy in white?” she said.

“He’s very handsome, Dr. Carson,” Janice smiled then gave the High Chancellor a nod and returned to her duties.

“I think, perhaps, we could move her to her own quarters,” Becket said, “to avoid any more embarrassing outbursts.”

“Make sure it doesn’t spin,” she said then looked at her husband, “I don’t like the spinning. Spinning makes me sick. I threw up. It was gross.”

“That is understandable.”

She handed him her computer tablet, “I can go now,” she said as she flung her legs over the side of the bed and attempted to stand. The High Chancellor’s arm caught her before she hit the floor. “Oopsy,” she giggled. He easily pulled her to her feet and she looked up into his silver eyes, “You’re so strong. Just boom! And I’m on my feet again. You have very sexy eyes, too. And the hair. I love your hair. You are one sexy man, Commander.”

Zy’nayth set her tablet on the bed and lifted his wife into his arms. “Come on, my love. I think you had best be in your own room.”

Becket smiled, “Want some help?”

“I can handle it,” he replied, “just set her tablet on her lap.”

Victoria craned her neck around to look at Becket, “Bye-bye. Come visit me later.”

“I’ll bring by your evening meds in a few hours. Get some rest.”

“Okay!”

Victoria redirected her attention to her husband. “I like the white. Very sexy.” She jerked up and kissed his neck, “I love you, Mr. High Chancellor.”

Zy’nayth resisted the urge to laugh as he carried her down the hallway, and was thankful they didn’t meet anyone along the way. After he got her settled in her quarters he asked if she was hungry.

She informed him that she wasn’t going to eat because she’d only throw it up, which, she again said was gross. Zy’nayth stayed with her, listening to her incoherent babbling, stifling his laughter, until she fell asleep, then he made his way back to the infirmary.

“Has she eaten at all?” he asked Janice, not wanting to bother Becket.

“A little. She’s slept most of the day. Doc ordered her something for dinner, though. It’ll be brought around in just about an hour, I’ll see that they send it to her room instead of here.”

“I appreciate that. And how long before she is no longer…delirious?”

“Should wear off in a couple more hours. We only gave her the one dose to ease the vertigo quickly. If you’d like, I could have Dr. McKenna bring around another dose?” she grinned.

“Though she is rather amusing like this, I do not think I would handle it well if it were to continue, but thank you.”

He turned to leave but Janice called after him. He turned, “Yes?” he asked.

“You do look good in the white,” she smiled.

A slight tilt of his head and a nod, “So I have been informed. Thank you.”

“And it’s okay to smile, High Chancellor. We won’t tell anyone.”

He gave her another nod, “I shall keep that under advisement. Have a good evening, Janice.”

He returned to their quarters and she was already rousing from her short nap. “I’m hungry now.”

“Dinner will be here shortly. Any dizziness?” he asked, picking up his tablet and sitting in the large chair next to the bed.

“Nope.” She rolled onto her side and looked at him, “I love that you kept the braid.”

He looked at her and gave her a wide smile, “It seems to be catching on. A new fashion trend.”

She giggled, “I can’t wait to see the First Science Commander with one. His hair is so shiny and neat. I swear you could cut meat with the edge of his hair. So straight and perfect.”

“So he is the one you have been petting.”

She giggled again, “No silly. Only you. I like your hair. Makes you look all intimidatinger.”

“Intimidatinger?”

“New word. Why did you keep the braid?”

“Because you made it.”

She waved off his remark, “No really. Why did you keep it?”

Zy’nayth set the tablet aside then sat on the edge of the bed, gazing down into his wife’s emerald eyes. “I thought I had lost you for good,” he said as he softly caressed her curls, “I thought I would never hold you in my arms again, or see you smile at me. But…” he sighed and let a tear roll down his cheek, “you came back. You gave me another chance. And you made this braid in your happiness. To me it symbolizes our unity, our bond to each other. We are woven together, and I want to keep this braid to remind me of that and to remind me not to ever take your love for granted.”

Victoria bolted up and kissed him, her sudden movement startling him for a moment before he returned her kiss.

“I love that answer,” she said, “I’d also love a big steak about now. I’m so hungry.”

April 12, 2117

“I saw him smile,” Be’atta said the following Monday when Victoria returned to work. “I nearly fainted.”

“He smiled?” Victoria asked surprised, “Really? In front of you?”

“Yeah. It was the day you got so sick. He was on his way to the infirmary to check on you, it was the first time I saw him in the white leather. I was sort of caught off guard and just blurted out that he looked good. I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that I was blurting that out to the High Chancellor of the Raythian Empire. But he turned and smiled.”

“I will have to ask him about this,” Victoria grinned as they continued their lunch, “letting his very proper façade down like that. So un-Rayth-like.”

“I think he actually feels comfortable around us. I mean, he’s still the High Chancellor and everyone is scared to death of him, but it’s like…like he’s one of us. You know how John and Chris are always joking around…or any of us, really. Always teasing each other, making each other laugh. I think he’s starting to feel like he can let down his guard around us and not have to put on that façade all the time. Probably relaxing for him.”

“Anything has to be more relaxing than being the Supreme Commander or High Chancellor where you have to constantly watch your back and be on guard.”

“And for ten thousand years,” Be’atta replied. “I can’t even imagine that level of stress for that long. Of course, I can’t imagine being alive that long.”

“Me either.”

“Looks good for his age, though.”

Victoria laughed. “He seems to have acquired several female admirers since getting his new uniform.”

“Well you were the one telling everyone how sexy he looked in it.”

Victoria grimaced. “Oh, when I came out of that delirium, I was so embarrassed. I can’t believe I asked Janice, in front of both him and Becket, if she thought he looked sexy. I can’t believe he didn’t clamp a hand over my mouth.”

“I think he found it amusing, and perhaps a little flattering. But a year ago,” Be’atta said, “I don’t think he would have stood for it, no matter how infatuated he was with you at the time.”

“A lot has changed.”

“For the good,” Be’atta said. “The gatherings are still going on, but we have hope, a hope we never had before. It may not end for another year or ten…but we’re working together. I never thought I’d see the day where a human and a Rayth would be working side by side. I never thought I’d call a Rayth my friend.”

Victoria smiled though tears were welling up in her eyes, “We will end this war.”

Be’atta raised her bottle of water, “Yes, we will.”

***

“Yes!” Victoria exclaimed as the High Chancellor recovered his footing. It was later that same evening and she had resumed her combat training.

“That was not fair,” Zy’nayth replied, “offering me a kiss then tripping me like that.”

“If I remember correctly,” she said, wiping the sweat from her brow, “my instructor, who happens to be very good at this sort of thing, told me that I had to learn to avoid distractions. You apparently did not heed this advice.”

Zy’nayth gave her a sly smile. “Would you care to try again?”

“I don’t think you could handle another round, High Chancellor.”

“Shall we put it to the test?”

“I think our thirty minutes are up.”

“Twenty-four minutes and thirty-one seconds,” he said, “are you forfeiting?”

“You lost, you’re just a sore loser,” she said as she headed for the door.

“Victoria Carson!” his voice boomed through the room, “You have not been dismissed!”

She stopped and turned only to find his hand coming up for a blow. She threw her right arm up to block it but he grabbed her around the waist and drew her into a passionate kiss. “I am not a sore loser,” he said, “you won. Very well played. But I will not fall for it again.”

She smiled, “I really won?”

“You only made me stumble, however, had this been a real fight, you would not have made it past the threshold.”

“I’ve gotten a little better though.”

“You have.”

“You still don’t go full out on me.”

Zy’nayth sighed, “You would not want me to.”

“Well, I have a little secret,” she said, “Be’atta’s been giving me some tips on days when you’re not going to be home and I stay in Terra 2…Kaven, too.”

“I am glad and you have improved,” he said as they walked to the bridge of the flagship. “My estate,” he said to one of the officers on deck who teleported them to the courtyard of the High Chancellor’s estate.

“I still like the island better,” Victoria said as they entered the building, falling one step behind him as a human was supposed to do, even though things were more relaxed now that Zy’nayth was High Chancellor. “Too many city lights here, I can’t see the stars.”

“I agree,” he said as they made their way to his private chambers. “Would you like to spend the weekend there?”

“Can you get away?”

“Not this weekend, but next, and probably not for the duration, but I think I could manage more time off than usual.”

He shut the chamber doors and Victoria slipped her arms around his neck, “I would love to spend the weekend there.”

“Then we shall,” he said smiling at her.

April 24, 2117

Zy’nayth had no idea how Victoria found out, though when he told her his age, she continued to ask when his birthday was, which, he explained, was irrelevant. He had only been a few weeks from his 10,438th birthday when she asked his age, but to him, at his years, one was much like the next. He suspected the Vice Chancellor had something to do with telling Victoria when he was born, and on his 10,439th birthday, he found himself on the western dock of the Terra 2 city celebrating his rather long life.

The Alpha Team, Gen. Cavanaugh, a few of the medical staff, as well as Kaven, and a few others close to Victoria, had set up a barbeque. Music filled the air as the group relaxed, swam, ate, and enjoyed their time together. Even Zy’nayth allowed himself to smile and on a couple of occasions, laugh. Even the heavy leather jacket and boots were set aside as he lounged in white cotton pants and a tee shirt.

“This is what?” he asked as his wife handed him something to eat. He had been trying various things so that, in her words, he would know what he liked when we was able to live on “real” food.

“Bratwurst,” she said. “This one is kinda spicy.”

He took a bite of hers and shook his head. “You can put that on the ‘no’ list.”

“How can you not like bratwurst?” Chris asked.

“I tasted it, I do not like it, Major Chapman. It is as simple as that. Ah, you are late to my party!”

The First Science Commander gave his superior a curt bow, “Sorry, sir…”

“They said to come in casual attire,” he replied. “Feel free to discard your uniform.”

“As I was saying, I apologize, I was in the middle of a simulation and I thought it best to see it through. The results are encouraging.”

“You found the energy source?” Becket asked.

“I believe so, but further tests will be required.”

“What’s this about an energy source?” Chris asked.

“The Rayth need a certain energy to sustain themselves,” Becket said, “but they’ve never been able to isolate what it is and why only humans seem to have it. They can’t feed off of cows or pigs, just humans. The key to finding a solution to what they eat is to knowing what that energy is precisely. So apparently, a theory I threw out there may have some potential.”

“Then we have more to celebrate,” John said raising his glass, “we’re getting closer.”

“Come over here,” Lutia Glasson said to the First Science Commander, “the High Chancellor said you could take off that stuffy uniform.”

“Stuffy?” Ja’val asked. “I’m stuffy in my uniform but everyone thinks he’s sexy in his.”

“It’s the hair,” Victoria grinned.

“So, Commander,” Zy’nayth said, “rumor has it you have been keeping secrets from me.”

The First Science Commander had just removed his jacket and looked at the High Chancellor with worry, “Sir?”

Zy’nayth tilted his head towards Lutia. “I understand you have been courting the beautiful nurse.”

“Yes, sir. But I wasn’t keeping it a secret, it merely did not come up in our conversations.”

“Of course. Do you intend to make her your wife?”

Victoria slapped her husband’s arm, “Don’t.”

Zy’nayth frowned at her then turned back to Ja’val, “I retract my question. For now.”

“I’d like to know the answer,” John said, Becket adding his support for an answer. Though John’s concern was that the First Science Commander hadn’t been there long and there was already a relationship brewing, it could mean there was a plot underfoot. One he and his team were still not prepared to deal with. Becket, however, was only hoping one of his top nurses was truly finding something other than her work to fill her time.

Be’atta reached over and pinched John’s arm causing him to yelp. “Ignore them,” she said to Ja’val and Lutia.

Chris managed to steer the conversation to a different direction and though things were still light, Victoria noticed that the High Chancellor wasn’t quite as open as he had been before the First Science Commander arrived. And just as the sun began to set, she caught a look on both of their faces that told her they were communicating telepathically.

“Well, my friends, I have a very early start tomorrow, so I’m going to have to excuse myself, great day today, thank you for inviting me,” General Cavanaugh said as he stood to leave. “High Chancellor, happy birthday.”

“One moment, please,” Zy’nayth said then he stood. “I want to thank all of you. I…I am very old and though I have spent many of my years hoping for a way for Rayth and human to live and work side by side, I am not sure I ever truly dared to believe it could happen. When I was first brought here to Terra 2, it was as a prisoner,” he looked from John to Vince, “but much has changed. We gave each other the opportunity to prove our trustworthiness, and for that, I am thankful. Every one of you here has proven your friendship to me, and my beloved wife, risking your jobs and your lives for us. Rayth have a tradition that our names are only shared among family and our closest friends.” He stopped and gave them a slight bow, “I am called Zy’nayth. And as a courtesy, please continue to address me by my title while we are in the presence of others.”

“And I am Ja’val,” the First Science Commander said. “I’m not as eloquent as the High Chancellor, but my sentiment is the same. You’ve all been very welcoming and I consider all of you friends.”

“Yeah, but are you going to marry Lutia?” Chris grinned.

“You do not have to answer,” Zy’nayth said to Ja’val while he extended his hand to Vince to shake. “Thank you for coming.”

Vince reached out and shook the High Chancellor’s hand, “An honor. Good night.”

April 24, 2117

“What a great day,” Victoria said as she fell back on their bed. “I just hope they don’t give away your names.”

“If they do, I know it will have been an accident.”

“So what were you and Ja’val secretly talking about?”

“You have become quite observant.”

“You’re evading.”

“He said that even though he found the energy source it may be of no use in finding an alternative food supply for us.”

“But it’s a good start.”

“It is.”

“Anything else?”

“I told him that I was going to disclose my name and that he did not have to feel obligated to do the same.”

“Anything else?”

He climbed up onto, “You are very inquisitive.”

“I have learned, High Chancellor,” she said, “that if I pester you long enough, you eventually tell me what I want to know.”

“Do I?”

She nodded.

“Hmm. I think you must be mistaken. I only recall divulging what I want you to know.”

“Do you now?”

He gave her a sly smile, “You are beautiful, but I am not so easily seduced into giving out information so freely.”

***

“Lutia and Ja’val, so soon?” Kaven asked as he and the Alpha Team met with Vince the next morning. “He’s friendly, even funny, but he’s only been here two months.”

“See what you can find out through Janice, she’s closest to Lutia other than Victoria and Becket,” Vince said. “Now, other than a bullet to the brain, is there any other way we can stop a Rayth attack?”

“I’m going to talk to Becket about this energy source they need to survive. Maybe there’s some sort of polar opposite, for lack of a better term, that would work as poison against them,” John said. He stood and shook his head, “But he’d be suspicious.”

“I can do it,” Chris said. “I’m sly that way.”

John chuckled. “We can’t tell him anything about our plans.”

“Not a problem. I just tell him that as part of the military, I need to know what I can use against them. After all, there are still rebels out there and we can’t rely on the big guy to be here on a moment’s notice with his flagship to get us out of hot water. All very legit questions, and quite honestly, true.”

“All right, Chris, it’s yours. Since you’re our ballistics expert, it makes more sense with you doing the asking anyway. Be smooth though. Becket may be a doctor, but he’s not lost on covert operations. He will pick up on things. Easily.”

“Not a problem,” Chris said.

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