Stolen!

Stolen! Chapter5

Chapter 5

“Wake them up!” Jessica demanded of Hunai. “Wake them up now!” She shouted as she stepped closer to him, brandishing the weapon. “I can’t,” he said holding his hands up and back in away slowly. “Why not?” She snarled. The whooshing of the door behind her made her turn so she could keep an eye on who else had entered. The Commander stood there with a wry look on his face as he took in the weapon in her hands and the posture of her body. This was no frightened female; this was the stance of a warrior. His brow creased as he realized she was no simple librarian. “If Hunai wakes them too abruptly there could be irreparable damage to their nervous system.” The Commander stated. Jessica gulped; she wouldn’t be responsible for harming the women. “Take us back to our home!” She turned to him and demanded. “You were at the orientation with Marad, were you not?” He asked her, tilting his head. Jessica snarled again, ‘We are not your brood mares!” The Commander tilted his head once more, trying to understand her reference. “Livestock! Cattle to be bred without our consent! No freedom, no life simply having babies to repopulate your world! How dare you do that to us!” The Commander saw before him an enraged female on the verge of hysteria, he simply pushed a button on his armband, and she sank to the floor, unconscious but her head grazed a medical table.

“Take her back to her quarters and alert me when she awakens,” instructed the Commander to the guards. He took the dagger and handed it back to the guard with a stern look on his face. “Yes Commander,” said the guard and they gently picked her up and carried her out of the medical bay. Hunai sat down on the stool beside the medical counter and ran a hand over his face. “That was unexpected,” he said. “Yes,” replied the commander. Other women had cried and shouted and demanded to be returned after their orientation, but none had escaped and demanded the others be woken up. “I removed this from her arm just before she woke up,” said Hunai. He held up a vial with the tracker inside of it. “What is that?” Asked the Commander as he stepped closer to get a better look at what was in the vial. “It’s a primitive tracking device from the humans,” stated Hunai. “Why would a librarian have a tracking device in her body?” “It was implanted in her upper arm,” said Hunai. “That’s not all, it also has a tiny capsule of poison in it.” The Commander’s eyes widened. “Whoever implanted this could have killed her at any time?” “So it seems,” replied Hunai. The Commander signed raggedly as he thought about the implications.

“That’s not all,” stated Hunai. “The number of scars on her body are more than the other women have, even those from war torn populations.” “Show me,” said the Commander. Hunai brought up the images of Jessica’s examination while in stasis. The blast wounds, the shrapnel scars, all of it. The Commander recognized them for what they were, the scars of a warrior who’d seen battle and survived. “Why would they put their women in harm’s way?” Asked the Commander to no one particularly. “I’m confused by this as well,” replied Hunai. “I’ll be in my office if you find out anymore,” said the Commander. “Yes Sir,” replied Hunai. The Commander turned and left the medical bay quickly and strode back to his office.

As he sat down at his desk, he pulled up the report of the woman’s capture and read in great detail how she had evaded capture for far longer than any of the other women. He was amazed and smiled; this one was unique. Not only was she beautiful but she was a fighter unlike any he had ever experienced. The Aeridian women were loved, revered and pampered compared to the human women they had acquired. The human males did not revere their women, they barely noticed that so many had vanished. He scoffed to himself, the humans did not deserve what they did not value, protect or care for. Several of the women they had moved to Aeridia had violent backgrounds. They had been abused and mistreated almost from childhood. He sighed; they would be well cared for on his home world. Their lives would be filled with security and gentleness. Their chosen mates would cherish them for the rest of their lives. Beneath his gruff exterior he longed for the sound of children playing and laughing once more. Memories swamped him as he remembered his baby sister squealing with joy every time he went home and brought her a present. The gentle look of his mother as she welcomed him back home. He shook his head to clear out those thoughts, they did him no good at present. He had a warrior to interrogate.

Jessica came to in the room they had assigned her. She was on the bed and a blanket had been pulled up to cover her. She looked around and took in everything she had missed earlier. She slowly sat up, her head was throbbing, and she felt a slight bruise along her hair line. She thought back about her last memory and flushed with embarrassment as she recalled her melt down in the medical bay. The thought of what she had learned thus far still rankled within her. She had to find a way home, a way to free all of them and to regain their freedom. Being onboard a star ship presented a bigger problem then she had ever faced. She had to figure it out before they reached the Aeridian home world. Once there, they might never get back to Earth.

She slowly sat up and leaned back against the pillows. The door whooshed open and in strode the Commander. He had a hard look on his face, she recognized it from her past military officers and knew she was in for a harsh time. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. “We need to have a little chat,” he stated. His elbows were on his knees and his hands were joined under his chin. Jess looked into his intense grey eyes that were framed in dark lashes. “What do you wish to know?” Replied Jessica. She stared at him, waiting for the questions thru the throbbing of her head. “Can you tell me why a librarian has a tracking device implanted in her arm?” Jessica leaned her head back and looked at him. She knew her cover was obviously blown now the question was whether she told him the truth or held back. “Marion, you need to tell me why?” He looked at her in an unrelenting manner. “Why was this device in your arm?” As he pulled the vial out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. “My name isn’t Marion and I’m not a librarian.” She replied. “That much is clear,” he retorted. “I was sent into that region as an undercover operative to try to find out why so many women were coming up missing. Looks like I’ve found out why.” She stared at him sternly. “Who are you?” He demanded. “I’m Captain Jessica Halverson of the Joint Investigative Branch of the Military, on special assignment to Interpol.” Jessica replied. “Did you know about this device in your arm?” Asked the Commander. “Yes,” answered Jess, “it was implanted so they could find me wherever I was.” “On your planet you mean,” smirked the Commander. Jessica just glared at him. “There’s an interesting aspect to this little device, Hunai found that it had a poison capsule in it that once released would kill you. Were you aware of this?” Jessica simply stared in disbelief. She shook her head at this revelation. “No,” she said emphatically, “Uncle Andrew would never do that to me!” “Well, Captain,” said the Commander, “someone in your group did and it’s an obvious attempt at a cover up and assassination.” Jessica put her head in her hand, the throbbing was much worse, and this new information had shocked her system. She went to crawl out of the other side of the bed when the Commander reached over to stop her. “We aren’t done yet,” he growled. “Unless you want to be puked on, MOVE!” Yelled Jess. She scrambled for the bathroom and barely made it in time before heaving her stomach contents. When her body had finished, she rinsed her mouth and stumbled back to the bed. Her head was throbbing, and the room was spinning. As everything tilted sideways, she collapsed. The Commander saw her swaying on her feet, her complexion extremely pale, and reached her just as her knees buckled. He hit the comm button on his wrist band and called for Hunai to come to Jessica’s quarters. A few moments later he arrived and was ushered into the room by the guards.

The Commander was placing Jessica gently onto the bed as Hunai rushed over to the other side and started examining her. Hunai noticed the bruising along the hairline and gasped, she had a concussion, and the interrogation didn’t help her condition. “ Hunai said worriedly. “We should move her to the medical bay.”. “Is her condition life threatening?” Asked the Commander. “No, I can treat her here, but she may vomit again when she wakes up.” “I’ll stay with her and see to her needs,” said the Commander softly. Hunai looked sideways at his commanding officer. “Sir, that’s completely unnecessary, our staff and look after her.” “No,” replied the Commander, “your staff and you have your hands full as it is. I caused this; I will care for her.” “Artak,” said Hunai softly to his old friend, “are you sure? Is she the one?” “She definitely is something,” replied the Commander, “but either way it will be her decision and her choice, once she accepts all of this.” “Yes,” said Hunai thoughtfully, “if she’s anything like you it won’t be easy for her.” Hunai placed a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know you will do everything in your power to help her adapt.” Said the Med Tech. “Yes, old friend, that I will,” replied Artak as he gazed on Jessica’s still face.

After several injections to fight the brain swelling from the concussion, Jessica slept fitfully, once more plagued by dreams, and nightmares from her past. Artak was there for every one of her cries, screams and the thrashing of her body as she fought through the nightmares that were memories from combat. He bathed her head with a cooling cloth and had a bucket beside him when she got sick. Hunai visited every four hours to check on his patient and watched his friend sit next to her as she struggled through the nightmares. One particularly gruesome one had her bolt upright in the bed as she struggled with motions that looked like she was holding a weapon. “They’ve breached the perimeter!” She screamed, “everyone up, get to the guns now!”

Artak held Jessica tight to keep her from bolting from the bed, he knew she was reliving a battle that had been burned into her very soul. He continued to catch glimpses of the battle that raged within her as she thrashed and cried and moaned in her sleep. When she finally slept peacefully, Artak leaned back in the chair and contemplated her future. Would someone like her ever accept her new reality? Would she cherish being a mother? She was a rare creature indeed and he had more questions than answers at this point. Artak heard the door open and Hunai came in to check on his patient. “You should sleep,” Hunai said to his friend, “she’s past the danger point and should wake up soon.”