Self Insite
1468 Words
Cassielle
Cassielle watched as Nate lost consciousness on the shuttle. The fear of losing threatened to take over. LuHan used his portable tools, but they would not be good enough to stop the internal bleeding. Nate had a punctured lung and a lacerated liver among other injuries. He suffered multiple broken bones, including the rib that went through his lung. None of that concerned her as much as the loss of blood.
The shuttle broke the atmosphere and approached her ship, the Lillian. It was a gift from the empire for being the High Command. Due to High Council’s presence soldiers from the Ryl were temporarily reassigned to the Lillian. The regular soldiers assigned to the Lillian occupied the two security ships. They were to meet up with the Ryl in a day to transfer High Council back to her ship. Her soldiers would also be transferred back to the Ryl, allowing the Lillian’s soldiers to return.
The shuttle docked with the Lillian and, as commanded, two stasis beds were ready and waiting. She held her arm tightly to her side to ebb the flow of blood from her own wound. Her regeneration unit had been knocked offline during her battle with the woman.
The back hatch lowered, and the soldiers escorted the captured enemies off the shuttle into the docking bay. A low murmur came from the group as they disembarked.
“Take them to holding cells,” Jacobee ordered.
He waited for the medical staff to board and lowered Kevin onto one of the waiting stasis beds. LuHan easily picked up Nate and put him on the other stasis bed. Hoods immediately covered the occupants.
“The older one needs to be put into immediate stasis. This one needs immediate attention,” LuHan said walking off with the medical staff.
Cassielle watched as the two beds reached the bottom of the ramp before exiting herself. Jacobee followed her. High Council stood at the entrance watching the beds race past her. She looked back to Cassielle. The look on High Council’s face told Cassielle she failed at hiding her own fear. Behind High Council stood her entourage, as well as two more Earthlings.
“What happened?” High Council asked in a soft voice.
“There was a Federation operation on the surface that killed the first extraction team, so I sent another, led by me,” Cassielle responded softly.
“What went wrong this time?”
Cassielle glanced behind the grand lady. “Why are they here?” She indicated the two Earthlings.
“This is Rose and Hank Kall, and I invited them to be here when Nate and Kevin arrived,” High Council said introducing them. “Were they-?” she broke off pointing to the direction the beds went.
Cassielle nodded. “The Federation had captured them.”
Cassielle already knew who Rose and Hank were. She wondered why High Council invited them to stay knowing there may be trouble.
High Council’s face had darkened. “What are the injuries?”
“This is not the place nor the time,” Cassielle warned indicating the two visitors.
High Council nodded in agreement.
She leaned in and in a soft whisper, “Please go to the med bay. I know you are injured. You’re losing a lot of blood.”
Abruptly, High Council turned around and waved at her procession. They all turned to leave except for the Kalls. They studied Cassielle, but before they could say anything, Cassielle’s legs went weak and she faltered. The last thing she saw was Jacobee catching her as High Council turned to look back.
Cassielle opened her eyes and found herself in an overgrown field. She recognized it. It had belonged to an old friend on Earth. A smile instinctively came to her as she turned in the field. At the far end, a small but familiar house sat with smoke lazily rising from the chimney.
She wore a delicate pink gown and pink slippers. This was different from her normal apparel of fine robes. Her hair, which she normally wore in either a tight bun or an elaborate braid, hung freely and danced in the warm breeze. She walked through the field to the house, reaching out to the wild celery that grew within reach. The poisonous plant never bothered her, and she enjoyed the smell of the flower buds. A new fence ran the length of one side of the field, next to the driveway. A large grove of trees ran the opposite side. Cassielle’s friend had always intended on using the field, but never put it to use.
As she neared the house, she could hear dogs barking. Her friend bred and raised corgis in the old log cabin. She could hear Charlie, the main breeding stud, in his pen next to the house. She reached in and he welcomed her gentle touch. His fur was as soft as she remembered.
From inside the house, she could hear more dogs barking. She climbed the porch and opened the door. A twang came from the screen door spring as two fully grown corgis and about a half dozen puppies ran out. They scrambled around her feet, each begging for attention. She reached out to one of the adult dogs and pet them. The other ran out of reach. She loved puppies but preferred the more well-mannered adults.
Inside the home, her best friend, Susan, sat waiting on the couch.
“You can leave them outside,” she said as Cassielle tried to wrangle the puppies back inside.
Cassielle shrugged and closed the dogs out, the screen door slamming shut.
“Am I dead?” she asked.
“No,” her friend responded. “Tea?”
A hot mug waited on the unusually clean coffee table.
“Thanks.” Cassielle picked it up. It was her favorite Morgoth tea. “Where did you find a non-Earth tea on Earth?” she asked.
“This isn’t Earth, either.”
“Then where?”
“This is your regeneration unit. This is where you go if your body is unconscious while it heals you or if your mind needs protection.”
“My regeneration unit was offline.” Cassielle sipped her tea again.
“It’s working now. Let’s not talk about that. Tell me of your adventures,” Susan said excitedly patting the seat next to her.
“Well, I just left Earth, again,” Cassielle began. She sat next to Susan. “I didn’t want to, but I needed to.”
“Leaving any place you love can be difficult. Why did you have to leave again?” The look of sadness on Susan’s face reflected Cassielle’s feelings.
“To save Nate and Kevin. They were hurt,” she said sipping her tea again. “Bad.”
“You realize they are in the best hands in the galaxy,” her friend said reaching out to her. “They’re going to be alright.”
“I know,” Cassielle said. Emotions she had hidden for a long time welled up. Fear, sadness, and even shame crept into her face. “I just…” she trailed off.
Susan knew what she was trying to say. “You just wanted to protect them.”
“Yes. I wanted to protect them. I thought if I never returned, they would be ok. That this mess would never reach them.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over this,” her friend pleaded. “This is not your fault, or their fault. The Federation has always held a grudge against your family. Did you really think that even after centuries of your family hiding on Earth, the Federation wouldn’t come for them?”
“I thought we would have more time. I thought I could keep them safe.”
“Cass, I know you are worried, but you did the right thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“You got your family off Earth and saved all of them.”
“You really think I can count Nate and Kevin as a safe? They’re nearly dead because of me.”
“No, they are alive.”
Light began to shine bright through all the windows and Cassielle looked outside. Nothing was there.
“Your time here is almost up. You did the right thing, Cass. Remember that,” her friend said.
The light engulfed Cassielle, and she began to float. She closed her eyes and could feel her body come to rest on a bed.
She opened her eyes and found herself in her quarters.
- Writer
