Anarchy

New Beginning

As the door slid open, Solara burst into movement. Running across the floor, she moved to the containment room Azrael chose to remain in and banged one tiny hand against the steel. Climbing the door, she peered into the room and giggled as the girl inside made a face at her.

“Open up, Az!” the Weaver said in a sing-song voice. “We get our new implants today!”

The smile on Azrael’s face fell away as she opened the door. Looking over the four beings in the room, she closed her eyes and tried to read their thoughts.

‘I need to look at that neuro implant the scientists put in her.’

The Avian’s thoughts, despite his calm silence, were incredibly loud. She almost laughed at how scattered his thoughts were. Then, just before she moved on to the cat-like creature, another loudly distracting thought hit her from the Avian’s mind.

‘Valiant didn’t find a tracker, but what if the implant itself is a tracker? What then? Oh, I really, really hope the Weaver doesn’t change her mind and end up eating me in my sleep.’

Azrael absently touched the bump hidden behind her ear. On one hand, she hardly knew these people enough to trust them. On the other hand, she had been thinking along the same lines for a while now. What if those people came after her and killed her saviours like they were nothing? If it was damaged in the escape, could it be reactivated somehow?

Smoothing her hair down, she licked her lips. “Solara, you little imp. You rolled over on me last night.”

“Oopsies, I’m sorry, Az.” The Weaver crawled up her back, propping herself on the teen girls shoulders like a spider-shaped backpack. “I learned some talking, but I don’t always know what they want.”

“You’re excited for the implant? Excited to be able to understand everyone here?” Azrael asked softly.

“Uh-huh,” Solara answered. Wriggling, she leaped off of the girl’s shoulder and landed right on the medical exam table. “Me first! Me first!”

Letting out a soft laugh, Azrael nodded. Wanting to encourage the Weaver, she smiled brightly. “Yeah, you can go first. You can show me how to be brave.”

Chuckling under his breath, Talis put the first chip into the injector and scanned Solara’s body for the right spot. The machine beeped, bringing up the narrow spot between the reinforced plates of her exoskeleton. “This might sting just a little, Solara.”

“Big hurts?”

“No, sweet child,” Talis answered. “Just a little pinch.”

She blinked at him, then watched the injector as he positioned it in the correct path. She watched his hand come up, the crystalline appendage shimmering in the low light.

Talis pointed to the spot on her carapace where her hearing receptors would be and smiled. “I’m going to put it here, and it might crack your shell a bit, but it won’t hurt for very long. The crack itself will heal in time, likely leaving some light scarring until your next molt.”

“So, it only hurts for a little, but I will know more?” She pressed, taking the injector from him and looking it over. As he gently took it back, she tilted her head. “Not, um, wee-pon?”

“That’s kind of cute,” Novidia said as she sat on a stool to watch. “She really is nothing more than a simple child trying to survive.”

The Arian doctor shook his head as he sighed. “No, it’s not a weapon. This is something Axel made so that you and Azrael can fully understand everyone.”

“If I’m being honest here, the chip is also designed to be a locator,” Axel said, watching the teen human girl from the corner of his eye. “It’s so that we know where to find our crew when they need help. You just tap the spot where the implant is to activate it, and it sends an S.O.S. to the station for extraction.”

Azrael scowled, “So, it’s like a silent alarm?”

“Exactly,” Axel replied. “It’s not meant to keep an eye on you, but to ensure the team knows where to find each other if needed. We would like to replace the one you have now. Just in case someone tries looking for you.”

Her eyes fell to the cold floor of the medical room, where the overhead lights reflected in long, sterile strips against the polished metal. Azrael sucked her bottom lip between her teeth hard enough to taste the faint copper tang of blood. Moving to the open bed, she sat down and ran trembling hands through her deep burgundy-coloured hair, trying to smooth the strands even as her fingers kept catching in them. Her blue-flecked eyes closed as she forced the noise of the room away, clearing her mind until all she could hear was the quick, uneven beat of her own heart. Then she focused on the memory of the day she’d been ‘tagged’, as the scientists called it.

They had held her down because she kept struggling against them, wrists pinned until the bones ached and her shoulders burned from the pressure. The room in the memory had smelled of antiseptic, hot metal, and something sharp that stuck in the back of her throat. Gloved hands blurred above her face while the lights stabbed at her eyes. The pain from the insertion had made her scream to the point that she shook the entire station before it forced her to pass out.

Even now, her skin prickled where the implant had gone in, and the remembered sound of the machine whirring beside her ear made her stomach twist. Then she recalled what they’d said during the procedure.

“The tag will stay active because of the Andromedans blood.”

“And if it stops?”

“There is a back door access that can be remotely opened and activated.” The first voice had said before the medical team cheered their progress.

Her eyes snapped open, the indigo glow dimming to her normal green as she gasped. “No!”

Having finished with Solara, Talis was cuddling the child until she was calm. Looking over at the girl on the bed, he scowled. “Something the matter?”

“Mem…. Memories.”

The door to the med bay slid open, admitting Trykerius into the room. There were two covered containers in his hands as he made his way over to the Weaver. Having heard the last part, he raised a blond brow. “Anything useful?”

“I think… I remember something… Something about back door access if the Andromedan blood ever stopped the implant.” She said, holding both sides of her head.

The human male crossed the floor toward Solara, who was watching the containers with all six of her eyes. He laughed when she jumped off the table and ran over to him on two legs. “Hey, Sol. Got your implant done?”

“Yup! All done. It hurt a little, but I was really, really brave…” she stopped, her mandibles opening in what appeared to be shock. “I heard it all! Talis! Talis, I heard everything this time!”

Laughing, the doctor nodded as he prepped the second implant. “That’s how it’s supposed to work. Will you allow me to work on you, Azrael?”

Her eyes met his and, for a brief moment, he thought she would object to it. Then, she rose to her feet and laid down on the table without a word. Staring up at him, she swallowed. “This isn’t a trick, right?”

“No,” he answered. “This is just us trying to give you a fresh start. They took your freedom. We wish to give it back.”

As he worked on Azrael, Talis’s crystalline form flickered. The soft smile he’d been wearing fell in stages. First from his eyes, then his face, then, finally, it fell from his lips. It took three tries to loosen and remove the implant from behind her ear.

His body flickered through colours, his distress visible to everyone in the room. Before suturing the wound closed, he made sure the new chip Axel had built was in place so that she only had one scar. Using the surgical plasma knife, he seared the incision closed.

When he looked down, he realized her eyes were open and staring at him. Handing the bloody chip in the petri dish to Axel, Talis said, “Kindly test this then destroy it. We don’t need unexpected guests finding this location.”

“No, we don’t,” Bane growled from the door. “All done?”

Talis nodded. “Yes, Captain. Solara’s is also in place. By the way, Trykerius, what are you feeding my child?”

“Your… child?” Bane asked, his reptilian head tilting to the side.

“Yes, of course. I found her. I saved her. I healed her,” Talis stated, standing straighter. “Therefore, she is my child to raise. Especially seeing as you clearly said she was my responsibility.”

Bane shrugged. “Fair.”

Solara, sitting on the floor with one of the containers, scowled as she tried to work the cover of the one in front of her. Finally, the lid popped off as Azrael sat up on the exam table. Gasping, the Weaver held up a bright red strawberry. “Look! Talis, look! It’s real berries!”

Jumping up, she ran at Axel, who froze before he found himself being held by the Weaver in what passed for a hug. “Uhhh… guys?”

Azrael slid off the table, slightly shaky from the minor surgery. As she waivered, someone caught her around the waist. She looked up, recognizing the younger of the leaders. “Thanks.”

“No problem. You’re one of us now, and we take care of our own.” He pushed his hair out of his face, the blue strands catching the light.

She had to admit that his human form was a sight to behold, and it helped that the guy was loaded with well-defined muscles. Nodding, she moved to gently remove the Weaver from the Avian she was happily cuddling and thanking. “You promised her fruit and delivered. What did you expect?”

“Not to be nearly crushed by her appreciation…” Axel groaned from the floor.