E:A Vol 4 Ch 2—January 11, 2120

Chapter 2: January 11, 2120

Be’atta and Kol’non went to the island to visit Zy’nayth and Victoria. The couple also offered to take the kids to the beach in an order to get their minds off of their father’s sickness. Victoria was thankful. Though Ja’val and Lutia were there, Lutia needed rest. The pregnancy was giving her a hard time with morning sickness, and even though she didn’t complain, Victoria saw the exhaustion in her eyes and often heard her up in the early morning hours doing much as Zy’nayth was doing: throwing up. So Be’atta and Kol’non’s visit was welcomed by all, even if only for a day.

After a day of running, chasing dogs, and swimming, although Mik’kenna would only play on the sand near the water, Kol’non escorted Be’atta back to Terra 2 and left her with a goodnight kiss. She settled into bed and into a deep sleep. She dreamt of home.

The village was only a few miles from the planet’s capital with the bridge portal located a mile south of Be’atta Jollan’s home. Lyvenia was a lush planet full of vegetation and wildlife. It was rich, vibrant, and alive. Just at the doorstep of the industrial era, the primary occupations of its inhabitants were farmers, hunter/gatherers, weavers, and the like. They knew about technology and had such “luxuries” as indoor plumbing and electricity, yet the people liked their planet as it was. They’d seen industrial planets on their ventures across the portal and all were dull, gray, uninviting, so they relished their tiny planet’s verdant landscape and didn’t hurry to create the things that would destroy the vibrancy. Only a few small factories were built on the entire planet, and these were to make the basics: plumbing items, electrical items, and cold storage items for food. Cooking was still done over stone hearths in the homes or even on open fires in the middle of each village.

Of course, things changed after the Nix discovered the little world. The Nix came and gathered the humans to store in their pods for later feeding. Given that the world was small and not extremely populous, the Nix gathered there only occasionally or if they had a warship in the area and the crew’s pods needed replenishing. But even so, the few taken with each culling was heart wrenching for the families losing loved ones.

Be’atta’s village was small, only around one hundred people living there in their round homes that withstood the harshest wind and rain storms. And aside from the planet’s capital, was one of the largest villages. Lyvenia’s population, no more than 200,000 was spread out in such villages around the small planet. All were basically identical: the round homes, surrounded by farms on two sides, forests on the other two. People bartered for a living. The hunter/gatherers not only brought food for their village, but traded with other villages, or even other worlds through the bridge portals. Each individual home had at least one milking cow and a dozen chickens, some for eggs, some for breeding or cooking. It was a simple life, quiet, laid back. Those who wanted, when of age, could bridge to another planet and explore the options available to them, but most stayed on Lyvenia because they enjoyed the life there…until the Nix found them.

Be’atta was five when the first Nix came. They hadn’t come to her village, but had gone to the capital. Word spread quickly throughout the villages, thanks to the bridge portals, about these evil men who came and stunned people, then carried them off, never to be seen again.

With the news, her father, the village leader, set her and her brother to training. Her father was also one of the guardians of the village. Usually that meant fighting off a wild animal, or an occasional drifter that came across the portal intending harm; now it meant fighting off a seemingly invincible foe, and he thought his children needed to start training immediately. Namal, Be’atta’s brother, was one year her senior and was already going on fishing trips with some of the other villagers. She was generally relegated to helping milk the cow, gather eggs, or washing the clothes. She didn’t mind. She liked to work with her hands and when different tradesmen needed help, she was always willing to lend a hand if she wasn’t needed at home. It kept her busy and she liked to be busy.

Each year passed much the same as the one before. Training and waiting for the Nix to come but. hoping they wouldn’t. There were times when they’d come to her village and see there weren’t enough adults to take, and so moved on to another village. The Nix knew that in order to keep their own food source “stocked,” the humans, had to breed and raise their young to adults. Be’atta’s father caught onto that and told the village that they had to keep their numbers low and when a child was near adulthood, they should consider placing them in a lower populated village. Some did, some didn’t. The Nix still came and took people despite the lower numbers. Usually they took the older ones who could no longer bear children. Be’atta’s grandparents were taken when she was sixteen. It devastated her. She and Namal had just become guardians of the village and she felt it was her fault that her grandparents had been taken. Both had been sent out to patrol the road between the village and the capital. They weren’t there when their grandparents were taken.

Three years after her grandparents were taken, on the eve of Be’atta’s twentieth birthday, Nagall moved into their village to study with their blacksmith, the best on the planet. He and Be’atta were immediately smitten with each other, but their duty was to keep the village as safe as possible, so romance always came second. But on her twenty-second birthday, he asked her to be his wife. She happily accepted.

The wedding would have to wait a year due to his younger sister getting married in a few months’ time. He didn’t wish to burden his family with two marriages in one year. Be’atta had no complaints. It gave her time to get to know his family and make sure they approved of her. Besides, her father had stepped down as village leader and she was chosen to replace him. Namal hated leading anything, preferring to do as told and leave the headaches to others.

Two months prior to their wedding date, the Nix attacked. This wasn’t a gathering. This was an outright assault. Jets buzzed overhead, first heading to the capital, later they’d attack the villages. Be’atta’s father called for an evacuation. His senses served him well. But the villagers didn’t follow his advice, nor Be’atta’s when she tried to convince them. They wanted to stay and fight. Be’atta’s father had no choice but to stay. He ordered Be’atta, Namal, his wife, and Nagall to get to the portal and bridge out as planned.

“My place is here,” Be’atta said, “I’m village leader now.”

“No, my dear girl, you and the rest of our family must go. You are the only ones who may keep our people…from annihilation. Go. I remember how to lead, it has only been six months that I’ve been out of the job. Go, Leader Be’atta. Go. Save who you can. Save those willing to listen.”

Be’atta hugged her father, kissing him on both cheeks. “Be strong, not stupid,” she said. “I love you, father.”

Her father passed the same sentiments along to his family and sent them on their way. So grabbing the few items of value that they had, Be’atta and her family began their hurried trek to the bridge portal.

They had just gotten outside of the village when two dozen men and women, most dressed in some unfamiliar uniform, came walking up. Two had something in their hands that they were moving up and down, apparently pointed at Be’atta and those with her. Two others stood behind them. The rest were spread out around them and were carrying weapons. Be’atta had traveled many places and had seen guns, and though these looked far more advanced, she knew what they were.

One man walked forward, ahead of the others. “Greetings,” he said, then cleared his throat. Be’atta knew he was nervous, but not about meeting her, it was the situation. They’d never been on Lyvenia, she was sure. She was also fairly certain they’d never been across a portal before, at least not well-traveled. The portal would leave you a little dazed at first, but as you traveled through it more and more, it was second nature. This group of people were unsettled.

“You speak our language,” Be’atta said, “you have weapons. Friend or foe?”

“Friends, I hope,” the man in front said. “I hear jets.”

“Nix jets. They’re attacking.”

“Nix?” the man asked then used a hand signal that brought his team to attention, guns at the ready.

“They’ve come to take our people, or kill them. This isn’t normal. Can you help us?” Be’atta asked. “My people want to stay and fight but we don’t have those,” she pointed to the guns. “They can hurt Nix. I hope.”

The man turned back, “Dr. McKenna, Dr. Carson, got your gear?”

“Yes, sir,” Dr. McKenna answered and grabbed the pack he’d set down while scanning the people who approached.

“All right, let’s go! My name’s John. What’s yours?”

“Be’atta,” she said and quickly introduced the others. “Mother, take the portal. We’ll follow after we deal with the Nix.”

“I am upset about my husband ordering me to leave. He, I must obey. I do not have to obey you, village leader or not. If you fight, I will,” she replied and took the lead in going back to their village.

When they got to the village, it was still unscathed. The capital, seen in the distance, was rolling with fire. “This isn’t normal. They don’t attack. They come, take a few people, leave,” Be’atta said to John.

“Who are these Nix?” John asked after ordering his men to strong positions around the village.

“You’ve never encountered them on your world?”

“Uh, no. Sort of new to things,” he replied.

Be’atta’s eyes stayed on the main road to the capital, then glanced to the skies, no jets. Back to the road. “Here they come,” she said pointing as they appeared out of nowhere. “Shoot to kill, if you can. They can heal themselves.”

“They what?”

“You are the leader, tell your people to shoot to kill. If you don’t, they will kill you. They are almost invincible.”

“I can’t…we’re supposed to be making friends with people and I can’t give orders to kill someone without knowing both sides of the story,” John said.

Be’atta stood eye to eye with John and slapped him hard across the face. “They are killing machines. They take our people and suck out their life’s energy. We are food for them. Nothing more. They are the enemy. If you do not kill them, they will kill you. Period. There’s no reasoning with them, there’s no making friends with them. We are their food. Kill them. Kill them all!”

Then John saw it. One of the village guardians ran up to fight off the first Nix. A six-foot pole in hand, the villager swung it back and forth, twirling around. Speed building. Then in an arc, the pole came around and the tall man with white hair, dressed in black lifted his left hand and caught the pole and used it as a lever to push the man to the ground. It happened in the blink of an eye. Then the Nix’s right hand settled on the chest of the villager. Within seconds the man shriveled up to nothing but dried, wrinkled skin over bones, and was left dead. The Nix stood, twirled the pole and rammed it into the ground, a solid three feet deep, and kept on towards the village.

John tapped his communications link, “General, we’re going to need reinforcements. Send in six more teams. We have enemies. Full armor, extra ammo.”

“Did you see that?” came Chris Chapman’s voice over the comlink.

“Yeah,” John answered, “they’re, I guess, teleporting down. I don’t know. But we need to distract them, get away from the village. We’ve got reinforcements on the way. Let’s lead them to the bridge portal.”

“I’ll be your decoy,” Be’atta said. “I’m a villager, they know you’re an outsider. Use the element of surprise. You may only get one or two shots off before they realize that your weapons are stronger than they expected. Then you’ll see just how dangerous they are.”

“Smart girl,” John said then began giving his orders. Chris, his sharpshooter, was already on his way to some trees to get a good vantage point. The doctors and nurses were escorted back to the portal, under guard and were to remain there. If there were injuries, they’d be brought over, or, if necessary, a guarded escort would take them into the battlefield. None of the medical staff were military, so they’d only be in the way if they were out in the field.

The distraction worked. Be’atta got their attention as several more Nix appeared out of thin air. She ran like the wind towards the bridge portal. John held off his team from firing until they thought they had most of the Nix in range and when the portal began to glow and more Marines walked over. Then the order was given and shots rang out. Be’atta had been right, after only a couple of shots, the Nix disappeared then reappeared out of nowhere behind a Marine, killing them with just a touch of their hands.

“We can’t win this,” Chris said even as one of his bullets hit squarely between the eyes of a Nix about to attack Be’atta.

John swore, “Everyone to the bridge! Retreat!” He hated saying those words. He hated the thought of the most elite training force Earth had ever known, pulling back in retreat, leaving defenseless villagers to fend for themselves. He hated himself at that moment. “Chris, you and me, let’s get some of the villagers out. Don’t engage the Nix. We have to be unseen.”

“Roger that,” Chris said.

One of the men near Be’atta, dragged her to the portal and threw her across. She found herself in a technological wonder unlike anything she’d ever seen before. A bald man, not too tall, but by no means short saw her and reached out a hand. “General Vince Cavanaugh at your service,” he said.

“I have to go back. My family!”

“Can’t let you do that, miss,” he said.

“You can and you will!” she said and slapped him harder than she’d slapped John. “They’ll die!”

“Portal has closed,” one of the technicians said. All who were coming back to Terra 2 had arrived, so the portal went dark.

Be’atta turned and quickly entered the address of her village portal and ran across. The doctors and nurses were gone and she knew they hadn’t crossed the portal. They were the only ones not in uniform so they stood out. Be’atta didn’t look for them, instead she ran back to her village. She could see, even from where she was, that a fire was raging somewhere in her village. She nearly tripped over one of the soldiers who had been taken out by a Nix. She bent down and grabbed his gun and a knife, shoving the knife in her belt as she continued to run. She had seen the soldiers use the guns, she figured it couldn’t be too hard. She was a fast learner.

When she got to the village, John and Chris were guarding the two doctors and four nurses with them as they tended to their patients. John walked over to her and pressed something on the gun. “This is the safety, it’s off. That means you can shoot. Leave it on until you’re ready to shoot. I don’t want you accidentally hurting anyone.”

She nodded and checked the switch again. “My parents? Nagall? Namal? Those who were with me?”

John shook his head. “I’m sorry. Those the doctors are treating are all that’s left. I’m so very sorry.”

“Were they taken?”

“Taken?”

“Back to their ship. Was my family taken to their ship?”

“No,” he pointed to the road that led to the capital. “They’re over there, I think, that’s where a group of your people made a stand. I don’t want to leave the doctors without a guard in case they came back.”

She ran across the burning village as those left were moved closer to the bridge portal, little by little. John tapped his comlink. “We’re going to need some stretchers. These Nix things took off a few minutes ago, no sign of them since. I want four men with two stretchers and I want two more to guard them. I’d ask for an entire battalion, but we’ve lost too many already.” He paused for a moment then clicked off his comlink. “Dr. McKenna, we have a couple of stretchers on the way,” he said after getting a confirmation from General Cavanaugh. “Chris, stay with them, I’m going to help her.”

Once the patients were transferred to Terra 2, Chris and Victoria joined John who’d gone to comfort Be’atta who hadn’t left the site of her family’s demise. They stayed and did what they could, Victoria offering kind words as she checked Be’atta for injuries. Then the three of them helped to bury Be’atta’s family before returning to Terra 2 late that evening. Victoria insisted that Be’atta stay in the infirmary, after all, that’s where the dozen or so villagers left alive were. They needed their leader and vice versa.

John promised that they’d return with more people the next morning to help bury the others. It had not been a good day for the Andromeda: Expedition’s first foray out into the galaxy. At the very least, it humbled him. He and his team were the best of the best. They were no longer the alpha dogs. Not even by a long shot.

After seeing Be’atta settled in the infirmary, Vince talked with John and Chris about what had happened. The conversation was brief. They really had no idea who or what these Nix were, only that they were stronger, faster, and scarier than anything either Marine had ever faced. They’d lost over a dozen good men and one nurse. They planned a meeting when Be’atta was ready to talk about what happened.

“We call them Nix,” Be’atta said. “I don’t know where the term originated. I’d heard it on other worlds as I went out to barter. Some called them other names, but Nix is the more widely used term.” It was her second day on Terra 2, she was still in deep grief, especially after burying nearly all of her villagers. But to be a good leader meant fighting through the pain to help others, and these people, despite their advanced weapons, needed help in understanding the threat out there.

“Their hands have slits in them. Invisible, really, until they need them. We call them life extractors. If they touch you with their hands, either hand, they suck the life right out of you. It’s how they feed.”

“Vampires?” Vince asked, unable to comprehend such a thing.

Becket McKenna shook his head, “No. They’re not taking the blood. They’re taking…I’d guess they’re taking the energy used by our bodies to keep us alive. They take our energy and use it to keep themselves alive. That’s my best guess. But the remains of those we brought back, their blood supply wasn’t touched. Nerves, the spinal cord, the brain, all were nearly obliterated, however. I haven’t had a chance to do a full analysis. And we didn’t bring back any Nix.”

“They take their dead,” Be’atta said.

“Where do they come from? What are their weaknesses? You told John they had a ship. Do you mean a spaceship?”

Be’atta nodded, “Yes. They have spaceships. That’s where they normally take people. They store us to feed off of later. At least that’s what I’ve been told from some of the other people I’ve visited on other planets.” She shook her head, “Let me start at the beginning. One, I’ve never seen a female Nix. I don’t know if that’s significant, or if they’re a race that doesn’t allow their females out of the home. But I’ve asked in my years of travel. No one has ever heard of a female Nix.

“Two, they all have straight white hair. All of them. It can be long or short, pulled back in a tail, or left down, but the hair is always bright white and straight. They all have blue eyes. They all, until the attack, wore black leather uniforms. Long black jackets, down to mid-calf. Leather pants. Thick leather, too. Arrows, even from crossbows, would barely penetrate it. But that attack though…they weren’t in uniform.”

“That’s never happened before?” John asked.

Be’atta shook her head, “Never. As long as I’ve seen Nix gatherings, they’ve always been in black leather. I’m guessing that must be a uniform of some sort.” She took a sip of her ice water, taking her time. Thinking about what to say about the Nix. There was so much and yet so little. “They’re stronger than humans, faster, better eyesight and hearing, they can self-heal. If you cut their cheek, it will heal right before your eyes.”

“Instantly?” Becket asked.

“No. Some seem to heal faster than others. I do know that when they feed off of humans, they can heal almost immediately.”

“Amazing.”

“The attack…that wasn’t normal,” Be’atta said again. “A typical gathering…The Nix come down, stun a few people who are then taken either in a jet or teleported up to their ship. There is no fighting. I mean, we try to stop them, but the Nix just stun us or ignore us. We’re not really a threat to them. Only an arrow through the brain can stop them and I’ve only seen that happen once.” She shook her head, “Their reflexes are so fast that they can either dodge the arrow or catch it. You have to be almost able to touch them in order for the arrow to be fast enough for to hit…and you don’t want to be that close to a Nix.”

Be’atta told them everything she knew and answered all of their questions, at least those she was able to answer. Two main facts stood out to Vince Cavanaugh and his assembled leaders: One, the Nix were known to every village and planet Be’atta’s people had ever visited, and two, they were the most feared beings in the galaxy.

After some private discussions with his team leaders, Vince offered Be’atta the opportunity to join John Hagen’s Alpha Team. They needed a main contact person. Be’atta’s village was the first and only other planet they’d been to since arriving in Andromeda. She had connections. She could help them establish connections. Plus, they had only guessed at the portal code that led them to Be’atta’s village, they only knew one other code and that was the one that got them back to Earth.

Be’atta said that as long as they were willing to fight Nix, she’d help them. But she needed to take care of her villagers first and she needed to know if there were any survivors on her planet. She wanted to know if the survivors could stay on Terra 2 until a new home was found. She didn’t want them on Lyvenia. She wanted to find a place the Nix didn’t know about, if such a place even existed.

It took several months to find a suitable location for her villagers. Those on Lyvenia who had survived the attack were welcome to join her village group but most decided to rebuild on their home planet. Be’atta didn’t think that was wise and tried to convince them to join her village, but few changed their minds.

Be’atta woke with a start, hear heart beating hard as the memories flooded her mind and sorrow filled her soul. So many friends and loved ones lost. She’d been back to Lyvenia only four times since that attack. The first was to bridge to each village to see who was left. From a population just shy of 200,000 prior to the attack, there had only been 5,000 left scattered afterwards. A thousand of those had gone to other planets with which they often traded.

The 4,000 who decided to remain on Lyvenia were no more than 3,000 on Be’atta’s second visit six months later. Disease had spread through them and with most of their healers dead or off-world, it took a quarter of their population. Still they refused to leave.

Be’atta’s third visit showed that their rebuilding efforts were coming along, and she was told that there had been no Nix gatherings that year. When she returned the final time, only a hundred people remained, only one of whom was over the age of twenty. She took the kids to Terra 2. The doctors healed up any injuries and filled them with nourishment. Then they were taken to Be’atta’s new village where they still now lived.

Little by little, the thousand which had tried to integrate on other worlds decided to rejoin their own people group. With just over a thousand people, they weren’t numerous, but they were determined to rebuild their numbers and start fresh with the hope of someday returning to Lyvenia and restoring it. Be’atta had the same dream, though her family was now those she had befriended six years earlier, those who, at the time, knew nothing about the Nix…Rayth. They were Rayth. She yawned as her heart finally began to slow. She was where she needed to be. And she was quite in love with the First Commander of the Raythian Spacefleet and Army. Her people were not accepting of that fact and it broke her heart. She would continue to try to show them all that had changed—especially the serum and the fact that the attack had been led by rebels to the Raythian Empire. That was something that Kol’non had found out for her. It took him quite some time to track it down, but he wanted to know who had done it as much as she did. It didn’t change the villagers minds, but they were good people and would think about what was said.

Then, of course, word had gotten back as to Zy’nayth healing little Ka’han, saving him from death after a bad fall. As for the serum, perhaps the fact that even the High Chancellor had taken it would convince them that Rayth, at least some, were trying to change their ways. She had tried to tell her people that they had no other way to sustain themselves, that gathering was their only means of sustenance, but that was little comfort given all that had been lost. She understood, of course. How could she not? She lost her grandparents, parents, brother, and fiancé. But still, she had to try. If they wanted peace in the galaxy, she had to try to create a trust between her people and the Rayth. It would be a start.

Of course, there were still billions of Rayth who had yet to take the serum. And Zy’nayth said he wouldn’t force them to. Only a small sampling of the population had undergone the treatment and it was, technically, still in the testing stage.

Be’atta rolled onto her side. It was a fine line she walked. Zy’nayth would not force anyone to take the serum, and if those Rayth fed on human villagers, he gave the Terra 2 team his word that he would not interfere in anything they did to stop the Rayth. Victoria, unlike her, simply didn’t go on off-world missions, and when she did, it was as a doctor, not a combatant. Be’atta’s first duty was to protect those attacked by Rayth. Rebels or not, if they were attacking humans, she had to stop them. And here she was, engaged to the First Commander. What if one of those she killed was a friend of his? Kol’non wasn’t bound by Zy’nayth’s promise, Zy’nayth’s promise was as himself, not as High Chancellor and Supreme Commander. But she was sure Kol’non felt the same way. “The humans didn’t have a choice but to fight,” he once said. Yet the villages and towns they went to…it wasn’t as if it was her own village or her own people…if they were being gathered and John gave the order, they’d fight.

John had come a long way as a leader since his first, “Greetings,” moment, she thought and smiled. When John told the High Chancellor point blank that if they came upon a Rayth gathering while out, his men would fight to the death to protect the humans. That’s when Zy’nayth gave his word that he wouldn’t interfere but he could not, as leader of the Raythian Empire speak make that promise as the leader, only as himself. His people had to feed. Humans wished to stay alive as much as Rayth did. It meant war. There was no other way. Perhaps now there is.

“I guess all I can do is continue to pray that the Rayth will all take the serum,” she said in the darkness. “And I hope that it works on Zy’nayth. He’s far too sick and shouldn’t be. If he doesn’t pull through…” she closed her eyes and prayed for the High Chancellor, Becket, and Ja’val. If there was something wrong, the two scientists had to figure it out. Zy’nayth needed to recover because if it didn’t, the war would have no chance of ending. If Zy’nayth was no longer in the picture, and as much as she loved Kol’non, she knew he didn’t hold the sway over the Empire the way Zy’nayth did…the way he needed in order to keep the serum trials going. The only way this war can end is if the serum works as planned on the High Chancellor. His people will see him still as strong and powerful. Then they too might take the serum and stop feeding off of humans.

“This war has to end,” she said just as she fell back to sleep.

January 20, 2120

“It has been two weeks and I am still not feeling any better,” Zy’nayth screamed at his wife. As long as she had known Zy’nayth, Victoria had never heard him scream at anyone. A growl, yes, a raised voice, yes, but never a shout, especially not to her. “I am going to the ship and feeding,” he fumed.

Victoria grabbed his arm, “No. Ja’val said no. Honey, you agreed to follow Ja’val and Becket’s advice. You’re not in need of any nutrients. Ja’val said no feeding.”

“I am sick,” he said jerking away from her, “It will settle me.”

“No it won’t. Sit down.” Victoria knew she was pushing, and Zy’nayth was one not to be pushed, not unless you were prepared to fight him—and he rarely ever lost a fight. But she feared more of a setback from the serum treatment than for her own safety. She wanted him to overcome his having to feed on humans. It was something he had wanted for most of his ten thousand years of life. “Sit down, honey, please,” she said, softening her tone and approach. “Please, honey.”

Zy’nayth raised a fist, anger and rage flowing through him. Victoria swallowed, anticipating the blow, but he pulled back then sank onto the sofa. “I cannot believe I nearly did that,” he said. Trying to calm his rage, he put his head into his shaking hands. “Victoria, I am so sorry. Forgive me.”

She sat beside him and put her arm around him. “You didn’t go through with it. You kept your promise to never hurt me. Please, hold on. We need to do what Ja’val and Becket say. This will ease up.”

“But when? I am miserable. I cannot think straight. And I nearly punched my beloved wife. You should take the children and return to Terra 2 until this is over. I do not want to hurt you and the children. I am losing control.”

“No. I promised you that I was going to stick by your side through this. You’re stuck with me,” she said placing her free hand on his knee. “I promised to help you. I’m here, I’m not leaving.”

“I do not want to risk hurting you.”

“You won’t. I know your mind is going a million directions trying to deal with this sickness. I know that if you lose control, it won’t be the man I married. It’s how sick you are.”

“It is not an excuse.”

“Then don’t make me use it,” she smiled and kissed his cheek.

Mik’kenna and Ky’nayth came in, taking little steps forward, holding hands, huddled together. The pups were behind them, their tails and ears down.

“Daddy?” Ky’nayth said, just above a whisper, “You ‘kay?”

Zy’nayth sighed. His children had sensed his rage. He’d let his mental barrier down, he had to in order to control the energy still fighting the serum. All his energy had to be focused on anything other than the serum and it was taking all of his mental power to do it. The twins’ telepathic link to him was far more sensitive than he could even fathom, and even with the barrier down, they were too young to pick up on that anger. No Rayth child should have been able to, yet they had. Now his sorrow welled up inside of him and he fell to his knees on the floor. “Oh, my beautiful children. Come here and pray with me. I was so angry at Mommy. I had no reason to be.”

“Mommy, ‘kay?” Mik’kenna asked. The twins always felt a thin, but growing, telepathic link with their father. They knew when he was happy or sad, it was more of being able to sense emotions, not reading minds or implanting thoughts, but their mother was blank to them. Ja’val had told Victoria that would change as they got older and their abilities were fine tuned.

“I’m fine, sweetie,” Victoria smiled, “Let’s pray with Daddy. He’s so sick and he needs lots and lots of love and prayers.”

Ky’nayth hugged his father. “Lub you, Daddy.”

“Me too,” Mik’kenna said as she hugged him, “sowwy you sick. We pway you bedder soon. Me and Bubby pway all time you bedder. Puppies pway too.”

The family, including the twins’ beloved puppies, bowed their heads and Victoria led them in prayer. When they were finished, Zy’nayth talked to the twins in more detail about what had happened, why he got so angry. When he finished, and they again prayed, Victoria contacted Ja’val. The First Science Commander arrived only a couple of minutes later and was filled in on what happened.

“Should we let him feed?” she asked as Zy’nayth reached over and took her hand into his own.

“Sir, you’ve fed three times since the treatment. Has it helped you at all?”

Zy’nayth thought about it then shook his head. “Not really.”

“I think that’s your answer,” Ja’val replied. “Agree?”

“Yes.” Zy’nayth sighed. “I would like you to return and stay here. I cannot assure my wife that I will not harm her, and if I do, I need you here to heal her.”

“All right,” he said. “I’m going to head back to Terra 2 and let Becket know what happened. Victoria, do you need Lutia to pick up anything for you?”

“No, Alessa did my grocery run yesterday.”

“The kids okay? I’m guessing they picked up on his rage.”

“They did. Zy handled it very well. He was completely honest with them, and even asked for their forgiveness for being so angry even though it wasn’t directed at them.” Victoria gave her husband a reassuring hug, “I’m very proud of him. And the kids seem to be okay now.”

“I will also talk with them when I return just to kind of give them a ‘medical’ explanation of what their Daddy is going through. It might help them to process the sudden rage.”

“I would appreciate that,” Zy’nayth said. “It is still no excuse for allowing myself to lose control like that. Thank you, my friend.”

“It’s what I’m here for. They’ve never seen Daddy sick. I think they’re a little confused, and I should have talked to them before the treatment about what you might go through.”

“In all fairness,” Zy’nayth said, “I did not want the children to know anything about the treatment prior to the procedure. Plus, none of us expected me to be this sick for this long. I certainly did not expect it. I should have not tried to put on a strong front in front of the children. That only sent mixed signals with what they sensed.”

“You were trying to be the big strong Daddy,” Victoria said. “Okay, no blaming on anyone. Do you think you can sit out back with the kids? Or do you want to go upstairs and rest?”

“I will sit with the children for a little while. They tend to keep my mind off of my sickness.”

She smiled, “Okay.”

He looked into her green eyes and stroked her hair, “Thank you, Victoria. Please know that I never, ever want to harm you.”

“I know, honey, I know. I love you, Zy. I want you well and I need you to follow the instructions Ja’val and Becket have given us.”

“I will try harder.”

“Try not trying,” Victoria said. “You can’t push yourself to be well. Accept that you are sick and let us take care of you.”

Zy’nayth turned to his First Science Commander. “Ja’val you must keep me in line. Take me as a prisoner if need be. Throw me in a cell.”

“Not going down that road unless you are absolutely out of control. I don’t think you’re there, nor do I think you’ll get there. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get my wife and be back as soon as I can. Becket may be with me. Lutia may have to rearrange her work schedule, so it may be a bit.”

Zy’nayth nodded as he tried to get to his feet then immediately sat back down. “I am not going to make it to the backyard. Help me up to bed.”

Victoria slipped her arm around his waist, “Good idea.”

February 5, 2120

“You are looking much better,” Becket said as Zy’nayth and Victoria walked into Ja’val’s lab a month after the initial procedure.

“I am feeling much better,” the High Chancellor replied. “A month. I do not want my children to have to go through this for a month.”

“We’ll fine tune everything before we have to start treatment on them,” Ja’val said. “Okay, you know what to do. I think the scanner’s been waiting for you.”

“Most likely,” Zy’nayth sighed. “I can now sympathize with my wife and children. Victoria, all of those scans when you were pregnant, perhaps I was over zealous.”

“You were making sure that those two wonderful little bundles of joy were in the best of health. But I’m not going to lie, it got frustrating having to go in for a scan every time I sneezed.” She gave him a tender kiss, “But it was worth it, if only to keep you from worrying.”

“Any nausea today?” Becket asked.

“Some when I first awoke. It has passed.”

“Headache?”

“No.

“Good. Any other symptoms still hanging around.”

“I still feel weaker than normal.”

Becket made the note as Ja’val began the scan. “Once the nausea has completely passed,” Ja’val said, “I’ll start running all of the other tests. And remember we expect your abilities to be diminished until your body is fully adjusted to living off of normal food. It will take time, sir. As everything else has.”

“I understand.”

“I know I’ve asked this every day,” Becket said, “since this first happened, but has there been any more issues with rage?”

“None.” Zy’nayth said.

“I think that was the peak of the sickness,” Ja’val said. “The last push by your energy to try and rid your body of the serum. It’s still fighting it, and it will for a few more weeks, but I don’t think you’ll have any more of that horrific nausea. Another week, from the way it looks, and that should be gone entirely. Then we’re looking at another couple of months for your strength and abilities to feel like they’re back to normal.”

“I do not understand why in the trials of the others, they did not lose their strength and so forth, yet I have.”

“Scan is normal,” he said then walked over to the scanning table as Becket helped the High Chancellor to sit up. “Because your energy wants to fight off the serum, it’s using all of your strength, vitality, even your own brain power to try to fight it. Other Rayth, whether due to being younger, or because their abilities aren’t anywhere near your levels, don’t have that issue. Keep in mind, your Rayk energy is enhanced beyond any other Rayth. That was our biggest hurdle. It still is. For other Rayth, remember, they’re not fullbloods and their Rayk energy abilities aren’t enhanced. There might be a little fight from their energy to eradicate the serum, but it can’t because it doesn’t have the power yours does.”

Zy’nayth sighed and waved his hand, “Sometimes I think you just make this up.” Then he gave them a grin. “What is next?”

“I think it’s safe for you to start easing back into your work routine. I do want to keep it limited. You start to get tired, you go home. Certainly nothing strenuous yet. Don’t try using the sparring arena or anything like that,” Ja’val said. “Your body is still adapting to normal food, and we’ve just gotten you to where you’re not throwing up every hour. Let’s let things settle. If you can only work fifteen minutes, that’s fine. If you can go four hours, great. But don’t push yourself. That would cause you to relapse. You don’t want to go through this again.”

“What about wrestling with the kids, or helping them with the puppies’ agility training?” Victoria asked.

“Very limited,” Becket said. “Take it slow. Don’t over extend yourself. Again that’s a setback.”

Zy’nayth sighed.

“It’s for your own good,” Ja’val said. “You don’t want to regress, do you?”

“No.”

“And yes,” Ja’val said, “keep the bedroom activity to a minimum. I know you miss your wife’s affections, but let’s do this right the first time, okay?”

“Yes,” Zy’nayth said with one of his gravelly, growling groans. Causing Victoria to both grin and blush.

“At least his sense of humor is back,” she smiled.

“I really think we’re over the worst of it,” Becket said. “Let’s keep playing it safe and you do what we say and we shouldn’t see any regression of any kind.”

“Sir,” Ja’val said, “I want to make a request.”

Zy’nayth nodded for him to continue.

“Once you’re back to your normal self, I want to take the serum. I know you said you wanted us to wait until the trials had run to their appointed end, but…sir, I wouldn’t have allowed you to go through this if I had any suspicion there’d be any long-term ill effects. We’ve got three thousand Rayth all subsisting entirely on normal food and there’s been no diminishing of their abilities whatsoever.”

“Very well, here are my terms. I must be fully recovered. My abilities, strength, everything must be back to normal and must remain that way for two months. Continue with the other trials in case something negative does happen. At this point, if something does go wrong, it will most likely happen to me first due to my…differences. If, after I am fully myself again for two straight months, and nothing negative has happened in the interim, you, and Kol’non if he chooses, may undergo the treatment.”

“I think that’s a fair compromise,” Becket said, “Four months, six months tops to make sure.”

“I’d like to have it done before Lutia is due to go into labor, but I’ll do whatever you wish.”

“You have my approval at four months, provided the criteria I set forth has been met. That is the best I can do,” Zy’nayth said.

“All right,” Ja’val said. “It’s still sooner than I expected.”

“And the offer stands for Kol’non as well. Though, part of me does not wish my senior commanders going through this at the same time.”

“We won’t,” Ja’val said. “We’ve already discussed it a little, going off of the scheduled end date of the trials. I would go first, he’d wait six months then take the treatment. The question would be Ny’van. I think he and I could undergo the treatment at the same time. You’ll be recovered by then.”

“I will consider it,” Zy’nayth said. “He has been waiting as long as I have. Also, he is a fullblood. I know he is not enhanced, but he will be the first ‘normal’ fullblood we would use the serum on.” He thought about what he’d just said, “In which case, I want you at your best, so no, he will not undergo the treatment at the same time as you do.”

“Perhaps he can take it when Kol’non does,” Becket said. “Let’s go with that for now and adjust as we need to.”

“Agreed,” Zy’nayth said.