E:A Vol 4 Ch 5—February 16, 2120

“He was given just slightly less serum than we gave him,” Ja’val said when he joined the group. “That means he will most likely go through all of the sickness again. Obviously, it has reduced his strength back down to nearly nothing. We’re starting from scratch with him.”

“Long term effects?” Vince asked.

“Not sure. We never simulated something like this. Also, this isn’t our formula. Becket and I need to figure out how this altered serum will affect him.”

***

“No, don’t say anything,” Victoria smiled at her husband as he opened his eyes. “We’re on Terra 2. Becket did a little handiwork on you. Just rest. Kol’non’s out trying to catch their ship. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“The children?”

“Upstairs, safe and being watched over by Kaven and Be’atta among others. Just go back to sleep, sweetie. I’m right here.”

“Take them to Earth,” he said. “Please.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Now. Go. Please, Victoria.”

She nodded as she stood. She gave him a tender kiss. “Okay. Please get well soon. We love you very much.” Victoria returned to her chambers, “He wants me to take the kids and go to Earth. Amelia, can you run to the mess for me? I need groceries for there. Just a couple of things. I’ll plan for two days. Let him get a little better. This is probably an overreaction.”

“Sure,” she said and stood by Victoria while she wrote a short list of items she needed. “Becket, if he can be bridged safely, I’d like him with us. He may not want to go. Just please, I…”

“I’ll check with him. But I won’t move him until he’s stable.”

“Kaven, Be’atta, he’ll probably want you guys with us.”

“I’ll be there,” Ja’val said, “and Lutia as soon as he’s stable. He’ll want a Rayth with you.”

“No, I’d really like you to stay here with him. We don’t know yet what they did to the serum, and it would just make me feel better if both you and Becket were here with him,” Victoria said. “Besides, all of your testing equipment is here to check that serum they gave him.”

“I’ll say it again, he’ll want a Rayth with you.”

“Kaven and Be’atta can take care of us, and if something does happen, they can contact you with the comlink, then either you or Kol’non can bridge over.”

Ja’val nodded, “It’s probably for the best. This alteration they made…bothers me.”

She gave him a smile. “You’ll figure it out. Kids, round up the pups, we’re bridging to Earth.” Their little bags had already been packed when they thought they were leaving when their parents were kidnapped earlier that morning. Victoria threw a few things in a bag and was ready to go. If she needed anything else, Amelia or someone could return for it.

“I’ll bring these groceries by as soon as I can,” Amelia said.

“No rush. Thank you, Lia. Becket, can we go in to see him? If he’s asleep, we’ll leave quietly.”

“I’ll take the dogs to the control room,” Becket said, “go on, but kids, remember, Daddy’s pretty banged up, so he’s not going to look too good. He’s going to be fine, but it will take an extra long time for him to heal. So don’t be scared when you see him, okay?”

“Kay,” Mik’kenna said as she handed him Celeste’s leash.

Then the two children walked hand-in-hand with their mother to the recovery room. Zy’nayth was still awake and visibly in pain, but when he heard his children, a smile passed his lips. “I did not think children were allowed in here,” he said quietly.

Ky’nayth stood on the chair and kissed his father, “Dat’s puppies, Daddy, not kids. You be ‘kay, Uncle Becket said.”

Mik’kenna climbed up on the chair next to her brother, then she squirmed her way forward so that she could kiss him. “I lub you. Do head hurt? It has bannage on it.”

“It hurts very much.”

“I sowwy. You come wif us to Earf. Kay?”

“I will consider it tomorrow, but Dr. McKenna needs to give me the okay to move.”

“I tell him it ‘kay.”

“Honey, in this one instance, I think Dr. McKenna should decide, okay?”

“Den I ‘tay to take care of you.”

“Not this time, sweetheart. Come on, one more kiss and hug then you two need to leave. I am sleepy.” Hugs and kisses were exchanged, Victoria’s kiss lingered on his lips for several seconds.

“See you soon, my love,” she said softly then she and the twins met up with Becket in the control room. “Take good care of him. And he said if you okay it, he’ll go to Earth.”

“He needs to rest first. I hope he’ll be well enough to move tomorrow,” Becket said.

“Me too. Make sure he’s guarded.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, I think they have the fleet in orbit.”

Kaven, Be’atta, Victoria, and the kids bridged to her Earth home. It was early morning in Montana, being just after 8:00 a.m. But for the group that just arrived, who were on Terra 2 time, it was 1:00 p.m. Since it wasn’t too cold out, Victoria let the kids walk the dogs as she went and prepared the guestrooms for Kaven and Be’atta.

“The Second was tracking their ship. I’m sure they’ll catch them,” Victoria said when they finished up their little tasks and settled in the living room. “Zy said this might be linked to the sabotage on Terra 2. Someone got the formula for the serum. It had to be someone from Terra 2. I can’t imagine anyone getting past Ja’val’s security measures, and he hand-picked the scientists working with him on the homeworld.”

“Besides you and Becket, who could get to the formula?” Kaven asked. “Any of the medical staff?”

“No. That’s just it. Zy wanted it kept safe, so just me and Becket had the code to get into those files. Of course, Vince, Simon, and John have top level clearance so they, technically, have access to it.”

“Then someone hacked into the system,” Kaven said. “I can’t see any of them wanting to give away that serum to rebels. Let alone sabotage Terra 2.”

“Jason was able to get access to information,” Victoria said. “We never did exactly figure out how. There might be a connection there.”

“Who’d he hang around with?” Be’atta asked.

Victoria shook her head, “I avoided him; I have no idea.”

“His old boss, Pavel, might have an idea,” Kaven said.

“Yeah,” Be’atta said pulling out her tablet. “I’m sending a message to John to check with Pavel. Find out who was on Terra 2 the same time as Jason, and was onsite the same time the explosion on the mainland happened. And the fire. He and Vince are probably already on it, but just in case they don’t know everything Victoria’s telling us. Ja’val and Kol’non are too busy to probably discuss it with them and Zy’s too out of it. Anything else.”

“The Jason connection might not really be there,” Victoria said. “It was just something I thought of. I’m not sure if it’s worth it.”

“It is,” Kaven said. “We’re at a stalemate in the investigation now, so any possible lead could prove beneficial. And like you said, we never truly figured out how he was able to get that Gyhan virus smuggled out. Best to wrap that up which may happen given this little lead.”

“See if there’s anyone onsite with anti-Rayth sentiments,” Victoria said.

“That’s going to be hard for one of us to do given who we’re friends with,” Be’atta said. “John will need someone we can trust who’s outside of our little group. And, quite frankly, I’m pretty sure there are. Probably those who were in the first few waves from Earth to Terra 2—those who lost friends. I mean, to be quite honest, when our Rayth friends walk the halls, people still back away or divert their eyes.”

“That’s because Zy’s mere presence almost dictates that people don’t look directly in his eyes,” Kaven said.

“He’s the Alpha male,” Victoria said, then explained the term to her two native Andromeda friends. “In any case, who do we trust that someone else with anti-Rayth sentiments might also confide in? They wouldn’t talk to John or Chris.”

“Kessler?” Kaven suggested.

“Nah, still a little too close.”

“What about Jennifer Maison?” Be’atta asked. “Maybe someone went to her and talked about their hatred for Rayth.”

“Worth asking about,” Kaven said.

“Yeah, but there’s that whole doctor-patient confidentiality thing,” Victoria sighed. “Though someone set off an explosion on the mainland, tried to blow up one of the generator stations, and tried to kill my husband. I think she might have to forget that confidentiality for a moment.”

“You know…” Kaven looked at Be’atta, “you might be the person to talk to her. You’re going through a lot with your relationship with Kol’non and the stance of your people against Rayth. You could talk to her as a patient. You’re also friends. Maybe…”

“No,” Victoria said, “let’s not put either of them in that situation. They are friends, like you said. I don’t want to ruin that. Chris would probably be best or John…to talk to Jennifer, that is, and do it from an official standpoint.”

“Speaking of Chris,” Kaven said with a sigh, “he’s thinking of returning to Earth. Permanently.”

“Wait, what? He just talked Vince into allowing his father to come to Terra 2,” Victoria said. “He…what brought this on?”

“It’s the baby. Alessa’s parents are in an uproar because they’re not going to see the baby born and because she’s in Antarctica,” he grinned at the fact that the story they concocted was still being used, “they’ll never see their grandchild. Chris doesn’t want to break up her family like that.”

“Well…he can’t leave,” Victoria said. “He’s like a baby brother to me. What about seeing if her parents could live on Terra 2?”

“Not a good call,” Be’atta said, “you met them at the wedding. Not exactly the warmest couple to be around. Extremely arrogant, and that just doesn’t work too well in our environment. They’re used to having control of everything, and they’d want to run Terra 2. I already told Chris that if he even suggested it to Vince, I’d veto it.”

“That bad?” Kaven asked, “I didn’t talk to them much.”

“I didn’t either, but I watched them at the wedding. My view could have been tainted from some things Alessa’s said about them being domineering, but their actions at the wedding definitely suggest that if they’re not making the calls, they’d do something to change it so that they were. I love Alessa like a sister, but her parents just rubbed me the wrong way.”

“I’ll talk to Chris,” Victoria said, “I’m sure they can arrange making frequent trips to Earth. All parents must go through this when their children move far away and have their own families.”

“Yeah,” Be’atta said, “but Roland and Vanessa…they really want to control everything. It might not be a simple fix.”

“Any idea what Alessa wants to do?”

“Chris didn’t say…but you could talk to Alessa better than I could,” Kaven said. “Maybe even better than Be’atta. She really looks up to you.”

“As soon as I’m sure Zy’s okay, I’ll spend some time with her. Now back to our original problem. Who else do you think we could tap for information other than Pavel and Jennifer? We still need someone to start digging around the military personnel.”

“What about Hicks from the Delta Team?” Be’atta said.

“I trust him, but a leader of one of the off-world teams isn’t a good idea,” Kaven said, “wouldn’t be my first choice. Let’s stew on it a bit. John and Chris can start with Pavel and Jennifer for now. I know they already have some people asking questions quietly about the explosion and fire, so they may simply add this to their list.”

Suddenly Baxter, Celeste, Shadow, and Hero took off running and barking. The kids were startled by the sudden change in their behavior. Kaven and Be’atta were both out of their seats, guns drawn, pointing at the basement entrance.

“It’s just me,” they heard Amelia say to the dogs that had surrounded her, jumping up, wanting her attention. Kaven put away his gun and whistled, calling the dogs to him. Then he took the grocery bags from her.

“Sorry,” Amelia said upon seeing the guns, “didn’t mean to stir everyone up. And sorry for taking so long. I stopped in to ask Mom and Dad to pray for Zy and everyone. Of course, I had to fill them in and all that. Then Becket asked me to stop by the infirmary before I left.”

“Any change in Zy?” Victoria asked, even though it had only been a little under two hours since she left his side.

“He was sleeping when I left,” Amelia said. “The good, although maybe bad news is that Ja’val’s already figured out the anomaly in the serum.”

“Really?”

“Well, he’s pretty good, you know,” Amelia smiled. “Anyway, he said it was that virus…the one the Gyhan were spreading to kill Rayth.”

“Oh no!”

“That helps tie things back to Jason a little,” Kaven said.

“Don’t worry,” Amelia said, “Ja’val said that the virus never hurt Rayth by direct exposure, only when they fed off of infected humans. He and Becket are both keeping a close eye on Zy’nayth and will probably split shifts to monitor him around the clock. Right now, he’s sleeping like a baby.”

“Why would they do that?” Victoria asked, more to herself than to the others. “If the Gyhan virus doesn’t hurt Rayth directly…” she shook her head, “it doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe they don’t know that,” Kaven said. “It doesn’t sound like they’re the smartest group in the galaxy.”

“They were smart enough to kidnap my husband,” Victoria frowned. “I know Ja’val said he probably let them take us so he could find out who was behind this, but still, he…” she groaned. “He shouldn’t do things like that.”

Kaven shook his head, “They left him in a room with a computer that was linked to their entire system,” he said. “Come on, everyone knows if you give that man a computer he can hack into anything. I knew that after his first trip to Terra 2. If I knew not to trust him around a computer, after just one little incident, those Rayth, his own nephews should have definitely known it.”

“Then there must be something else. They want something. They want it to look like they’re after him.” She let her gaze fall onto her children then back to Kaven.

“Don’t worry about them. Perimeter is up. Be’atta and I can rotate shifts to stand guard.”

“No. No. The perimeter will be enough.”

“We could go to an alternate location,” Kaven suggested.

“Let’s wait,” Victoria said, “as much as Alessa’s parents are control freaks, we know my husband is and if so much as move from here without him approving it, he’ll not be happy. Besides, Kol’non will need to know where we go or at least that we’re moving. Let’s just give them time to catch Di’vash.”

“The brother wasn’t on the ship?” Be’atta asked. “What was his name? Ca’vak?”

“Yeah,” Victoria nodded, “Ca’vak. I’m not sure if he was there, though. I wouldn’t know what he looked like, and Zy didn’t seem to acknowledge anyone who might have been the brother. He asked if Ca’vak was in on the plan and Di’vash said yes, but there was nothing to indicate that Ca’vak was on the ship.” Victoria’s comlink buzzed. “This is Carson,” she said answering the call.

“Kol’non has captured Di’vash and his ship. The brother, Ca’vak was not on board,” Ja’val said. “He is going to continue his investigation, but he would like a Rayth stationed with you. I will head over when…”

“Ja’val, this perimeter will protect us, right?” she asked.

“Yes. But not if someone knows the bridge code and comes in that way.”

“What are the odds of that happening?”

“What are the odds of someone dosing the High Chancellor with a serum that they shouldn’t have had access to?”

Victoria sighed, “Okay. Listen. You need to be there with Zy. Kaven and Be’atta can guard the bridge. They can handle it. I want you there with my husband. I don’t care what he says.”

“I’ll see if John or Chris can join you then.”

“Okay, but, one second,” she said as Kaven, guessing what was being talked about gave her instructions. “Okay, sorry, Kaven says to tell Vince that everyone who intends on coming over needs to contact him or Be’atta first. We don’t want any surprises. The bridge glows and they haven’t been called, they’ll shoot anything that crosses over.”

“All right. Kol’non isn’t going to like this. Neither is your husband. But, like I said, I’ll see if John or Chris can join you.”

“I’ll deal with my husband. It’s just one night. Becket said Zy should be fine to move here in the morning. I’ll handle him when he gets here.”

“Good luck with that,” Ja’val said with a smile in his voice, “take care of yourself.”

Victoria told those with her what Ja’val had said then Kaven took over.

“Here’s the plan. Someone gets in, more than likely they’re not going to approach through the tunnel. That entrance is pretty hidden with the fake wall. So they’ll go up the stairs and out of the barn. We’ll signal you the minute that thing glows. One of us will be at the bridge, one will be with you. Do not hesitate. It glows, you get our signal, you guys get to your cruiser and get out. Don’t try for the bridge portal. Let’s not risk it. Got it? Kids, you’ll need to round up the dogs quickly, if that happens, can you do that?”

Both kids nodded.

“I don’t think anything will happen, but it would really help me if I knew you two were ready to run. Maybe we could do a practice drill? That way the puppies can practice too.”

“Kay!” Ky’nayth exclaimed, excited about the new adventure.

“Mik’kenna, honey, are you okay?” Kaven asked.

“I no want bad guy come here.”

“Neither do we, but if they do, we need to be ready to leave. I don’t think they know the bridge code, if they did, they’d probably be here already. Besides your Daddy has only allowed our family to know that code. But, like your Daddy, I want to make sure we have a contingency plan in place, just in case, so we all need to be ready to leave if the bad guys do show up.”

“I know. I want Daddy here. Daddy save us,” the girl said.

“Your Daddy has to stay on Terra 2 and let Uncle Becket and Uncle Ja’val take care of him.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I ‘pose to take care of him.”

Victoria walked over and hugged her daughter. “Daddy’s going to be okay and we’re all going to be safe. Daddy wouldn’t have sent us here if he didn’t think we’d be safe here. And Lia, you don’t have to stay,” Victoria said as she sat back down, this time with Mik’kenna on her lap.

“I want to help out. If something happens, it’ll be good if you have someone else to help wrangle the dogs and kids. Besides, I told Becket that I wanted to stay and help.”

While Kaven went down to guard the bridge, Be’atta led the others in a few practice runs from various parts of the house to the garage. It was more of an effort to get the dogs to follow the commands than to get the kids prepared. Though only a little over two years of age, the kids were highly intelligent and understood the danger. The dogs, however, were still pups and needed some encouragement to do what they were told. The dogs ended up loving the game of running to the cruiser, though it was mostly because they were given a treat if they ran straight there upon receiving the command.

“Good job you two,” Be’atta said to Ky’nayth and Mik’kenna after several successful trips where the dogs obeyed completely. “Very fast and you did really well with the dogs. I feel much better knowing that you have the dogs under control.”

“Tank ooh,” Ky’nayth said.

Mik’kenna was still downcast, but she’d run the drill with all of her heart and did everything correctly. Be’atta sat on the sofa and pulled her onto his lap. “You know, it’s okay to be scared.”

“I need to be stwong for Daddy.”

“You can be both strong and scared. When I go out on some really dangerous missions, I get scared. But I’m still strong. Kaven too. And I bet your Daddy gets a little scared sometimes, and we know how strong he is.”

“Daddy looked so hurted,” she said as she began to tear up. “I no wike to see him hurted.”

Be’atta hugged her close, “I know, sweetheart. But you know that Uncle Becket and Uncle Ja’val are taking really good care of him.”

Mik’kenna wrapped her arms around Be’atta’s neck and began to cry. “I no want Daddy hurted.”

“He’s going to be okay, sweetie,” Be’atta said, “go ahead and cry. Let all those tears out. It’s okay.”

Victoria sat beside them and gently rubbed her daughter’s back. Ky’nayth climbed up on her lap and curled up. He had a few tears but tried to stay composed. Victoria told him that it was okay for him to cry too and soon both he and his sister were sobbing. Amelia let them go on for a couple of minutes, then she knelt before them and suggested that they pray.

“I think Mommy and her two precious little ones need a nap,” Victoria said after their prayer. “Do you guys want your own rooms or do you want to sleep with me?”

“Sweep wif you,” Mik’kenna said, and Ky’nayth agreed.

“If I’m not back down in an hour or so, wake me and I’ll fix us some dinner…or lunch…whichever it is with this time change.”

Victoria fell asleep as soon as she was in the bed. She’d been through a lot that day, and it hadn’t really hit her that it had all happened just that morning. The kids and the dogs curled up next to her as close as they could get. They were scared. They didn’t like to see their father so hurt. Being nauseous was one thing, but to see him bandaged and in a hospital bed was another.

An hour later, the kids were awake and quietly made their way back downstairs. Amelia and Be’atta got them bundled up so they could walk the dogs. That was when Amelia got the call from Becket. She excused herself from the walk and then ran into the house and woke Victoria.

“Honey, honey, you need to bridge to Terra 2 now,” she said, “Victoria.”

Victoria was groggy, “What?”

“Zy needs you. Becket said you have to get to Terra 2 now. I’ll stay with the kids. Go!”

Now wide awake, Victoria darted down the stairs, through the tunnel, and up to the main floor of the barn where she bridge over to Terra 2. Vince met her and cleared the way for her to one of the infirmary’s operating rooms. She ran in through the first set of doors, eyes finding Becket who was hovered over the High Chancellor’s heart.

“Cardiac arrest,” Janice said, meeting her, “get over here and talk to him. No need to scrub. Ja’val can kill off any germs if we have to open him up. Go.”

Without getting in the way of anyone, Victoria was at her husband’s ear and began to kiss it and whisper to him. “Honey, I’m here. I’m right here. Come on, fight this. Fight this, sweetie. You’ve fought it before and won. Don’t let Di’vash win. Don’t you dare let him win. And don’t you dare leave me. You promised me you’d never leave me. Come on. Fight.”

“Sir, it’s been four minutes,” one of the nurses said.

“Keep going,” Becket ordered, then called for the paddles to be charged again and other medications to be administered. “Commander!”

“I tried my energy once, it didn’t help,” Ja’val said.

“It can’t get worse,” Victoria said and nodded to him.

Ja’val’s hand rested on the chest, just above where Becket was performing CPR. A second later, Ja’val shook his head. “Causing more problems.”

Victoria kissed Zy’nayth’s ear again, “Honey, this is all up to you. Your First can’t help. Becket’s doing all he can. Come on, honey, don’t give up!”

“Clear!” Becket called out.

Victoria’s eyes were on the monitors, the sight wasn’t encouraging. There was a very faint rhythm, one that would stop altogether if Becket stopped his efforts.

“Again,” he said, “Clear.”

“High Chancellor, you promised!” Victoria now shouted as her husband completely flatlined. “You promised me!”

“Again,” Becket said, “Clear.” He ordered another shot when he pulled the paddles back.

Victoria shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Please, please, Zy,” she went back to whispering in his ear. “Don’t do this to me. I can’t raise our kids alone. I don’t know anything about Rayth kids. I can’t do it alone. Don’t do this. Oh God, please, don’t take him from me. Please!”

“Again…” Becket said.

“Sir, we should have called it a while ago,” Janice said.

“Again! Clear!” Becket shouted.

The room went eerily quiet after two more attempts.

Becket sighed, shook his head, and set the paddles aside. “I’m sorry, Victoria.” He looked at the clock, “Time of death…”

Ja’val moved Becket aside and slammed his hand down onto Zy’nayth’s chest. The sound of sizzling air filled the room as his energy flowed like lightning into the High Chancellor. It was more power than Victoria had ever seen. Usually there was no visual sign of the energy flow, this time there was, almost like the sound of frying bacon, albeit fainter. Ja’val let out a roaring growl a few seconds later and fell to his knees.

“Janice, get the Second Science Commander here,” Becket said, and motioned for Dr. Neville Danielson to tend to Ja’val.

There was a deep gasp, drawing of breath. The monitors around Zy’nayth came back to life. Victoria grabbed his hand, “That’s it, honey, that’s it. Come on. Hold on.”

“Oh dear Lord. He did it,” Becket said, looking up from Ja’val’s prone body to the monitors, “He’s stabilizing. He really did it. Good. Good. Neville, scan Science.”

“Second Science is on his way, along with Kol’non,” Janice said.

“I have no idea what he did,” Becket said, “Science’s vitals look good, though,” he continued as he read the data from Neville’s scanner. “Get him to a bed.”

“What about that Gyhan virus?” Victoria asked.

“Only would affect either of them if they were feeding, I’ll double check with Second Science though.”

Kol’non and the Second Science Commander came running into the room. Becket quickly filled them in as two orderlies came in a gurney to move Ja’val.

“High Chancellor is still stable,” Becket said.

The Second Science Commander put his hand on Ja’val’s chest to check him first. “Dr. McKenna, he needs to feed. Now.”

“Take him and go,” Becket said, “I have questions for you, so please return.”

The Second Science Commander nodded and pushed the gurney to the control room and bridged over to the flagship, taking Ja’val to their “food” storage area. He roused him, then put one of Ja’val’s hands on one of their gathered humans. By sheer instinct alone, Ja’val’s energy extractor in his hand pulled the energy, and the life, out of the human in the pod.

“I would surmise,” Kol’non was telling Becket and the team back on Terra 2, “that he dumped all of his energy into the High Chancellor. A last ditch effort, if you will.”

“It seemed to work,” Becket said.

“Gutsy move,” Kol’non said, “it could have made things much worse.”

“I’m not sure how,” Becket said, “he was dead.”

“Heart, but not necessarily the brain.”

“The brain’s okay, though, right?” Victoria asked.

“Scans are normal,” Becket said.

“Can you check?” she looked at Kol’non.

“I don’t know what effect all of that energy, mixed with the serum has done to him. I would prefer to rely on Dr. McKenna’s scans until the First Science Commander recovers. At this point, it’s not worth any risk to push more energy into him, even if only to check the status of various organs.”

Victoria nodded.

Janice brought a chair over and Victoria gladly sat down. She was still clinging to her husband’s hand.

“I want to keep him here in the trauma ward a little while before moving him back to a private room,” Becket said. “I’ll contact Kaven and let them know what’s going on.”

Victoria looked at Kol’non, “Talk to Kaven or Be’atta. They have some ideas to run past you.”

“I will.”

Soon the room was quiet again, only the beeps from the monitors could be heard. Victoria held Zy’nayth’s hand, kissing it from time to time. “You had me pretty scared,” she whispered. “I love you so much. And I’m right here. I’m really tired, honey, so I’m probably going to fall asleep, but I’m right here. The kids are safe and they send their love and hugs and kisses. I love you,” she said as she yawned.

She placed her head on the edge of the bed and began to drift off, trying not to think of the life or lives Ja’val was taking to survive because he used all of his energy to save her husband. It was a conflict she hated to even think about: the taking of one life to save another. It went against everything she held dear, and yet…Zy’nayth was everything to her. Ja’val didn’t ask her opinion, he did it on his own volition. But what would she have said to him if he’d asked? She didn’t want to think she would take another person’s life to save Zy’nayth. A human life, one that would be fortunate if they lived to eighty. Zy’nayth had lived a hundred lives and then some. It wasn’t fair to the human. She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear ran down and soaked into the sheet below her cheek. No, she decided, as much as it would have hurt her, even destroyed her, she would have told Ja’val not to do what he did. At least, she hoped she would have done that. Love, however, can cause even the most resolute of hearts to do foolish things.

***

“Victoria,” Janice whispered as she nudged her shoulder, “honey, we’re ready to move him to a private room.”

“Oh,” she said as she stretched and yawned. “I’m so tired. All I’ve done is sleep since we got back.”

“You have every right to. You’ve had a very, very long day.”

Victoria leaned over and kissed Zy’nayth’s cheek. “I’ll see you in the room,” she said then followed Janice through the corridors to one of only two private rooms they had in the infirmary.

“Pitcher of water, some fruit, and a sandwich for you. Didn’t think you’d have too much of an appetite, but if you want something else, let me know.”

“This is fine, thanks Janice,” she replied as she moved out of the way so the bed could be rolled in.

“One last thing,” Janice said, “Kol’non will be here in a minute with the kids so they can pray with you before they go to bed.”

Victoria smiled, “Good. Daddy will like that.”