Chapter 45
She fell as if in slow motion.
Kane’s mind screamed. He crashed to his knees beside her, then turned her gently onto her back and felt for her pulse, his hand shaking. Her pulse fluttered beneath his trembling fingertips.
“Is she okay?” Jake asked.
“She’s alive.” His voice shook as much as his hands did.
He took a deep breath and cleared his mind of the fear. Then he looked around him. Of their people, everyone—with the exception of him and Kaitlin—was on their feet. The Tel agents were unconscious on the ground, but that wouldn’t last. At least two guns were pointed at each of them.
He turned his attention back to Kaitlin as she blinked open her eyes.
“Thank Christ,” he muttered.
She licked her lips, then swallowed. “Did it work?”
“It worked. You were fantastic. They’re all out cold.”
She pushed herself up, so she was sitting. “Is anyone hurt?”
“You mean aside from you?”
She frowned at that, then glanced down at her arm. “I’d forgotten. And I wish you hadn’t reminded me because, fuck, that hurts.”
“We need to get you to a doctor.”
She shook her head and glanced past him to Jake. “Is everyone okay?”
“Rose also took a shot in the arm, but she’s going to be fine. We need to decide what to do with the Tel people.”
He knew what they needed to do. As did Jake. But he wasn’t going to be the one to say it.
“We need to kill them,” Kaitlin said. She looked him in the eye. “I know you think so as well.”
“It’s your decision. I’ve been accused of being a cold-blooded killer too many times. If you can think of a way to let them live, then I’m all ears.”
A frown line formed between her eyes. They all knew the answer; the risk was too high. If the Others came around now, there was a good possibility that they’d regain control. They’d been taken by surprise this time, but that wouldn’t happen again.
“It’s too dangerous,” she said. “They have to die.”
Jake nodded. “I’ll go see to it.”
She closed her eyes.
Kane reached out and took her hand, held it tight.
A shot rang out, and her fingers tightened on his. Then another. Four in total. When she opened her eyes, they were bright with tears. “No more killing.”
“Let’s hope, this is the end,” he said. But who knew what the future might bring? “How are you feeling?”
She considered the question. “Okay, I think. My mind’s clearing.”
“That was intense.”
“Wasn’t it?” She shook her head and then grinned. “We fucking did it. We saved the goddamn world.”
He laughed and pushed himself to his feet, pulling her up with him. He might never let go of her again. He tugged her close. How long would it be before anyone turned up? Should they get out of there before the first of the curious humans arrived? He was surprised that no one was here by now.
Jake came up to them, rifle held loosely at one side, Christa held tight at the other. She looked pale but otherwise okay. “Stefan just picked up a call from the military. They’re on their way but have orders to set up a perimeter and not to approach the object.”
“That should give us a little time. Though we’ll be inside the perimeter.”
“I’ve got the user manual translated,” Christa said. “We might be able to use the machine to get away.”
“Oh hell, no,” Jake muttered.
Kane really wasn’t sure that was a good idea, user manual or not. Christ only knew where and when they would turn up. But beside him, Kaitlin perked up. “Yay. Time travel. When should we go?”
“No way. I’d rather face the entire United States Army,” he muttered.
“Don’t be a scaredy cat.”
“Stefan said something else,” Jake said. “He thinks something is happening with the spaceship.”
“We have to go look.” Kaitlin grinned. “We may never get another chance to see a real honest-to-God spaceship.” She thought for a moment. “Unless we go to the future, of course. I’ll bet there are loads of spaceships in the future.”
Kane shook his head, but he was so happy to see her enthusiasm that he couldn’t even bring himself to mutter “no way” again. “We need to get you to a doctor.”
“You’re a doctor. You can patch me up.”
She was right. He’d trained as a doctor eighty years ago, and he tried to keep up to date on current medical changes. But he wanted her away from here, somewhere he could keep her safe. Away from the military and potentially lethal aliens and... “I need X-rays, an OR, and God knows what else.”
“You can’t always keep me safe,” she said. “And anyway, it’s just a scratch. Well, a burn, not a scratch. But you know what I mean. Look.”
She turned so he could see the wound. And she was right. The burn had self-cauterized, leaving a long red scar, but it wasn’t bleeding. He sighed and admitted defeat. Kaitlin patted his arm. “See, you can learn new tricks. Let’s go look at the spaceship.”
Kaitlin was already heading off, tugging at his hand and he gave in to the inevitable. Besides, she was right. They might never get another chance.
“You’ll find I’m usually right,” she said.
The others fell in all around them as they headed toward the ship. Melody was on Kaitlin’s other side.
“What are they like?” Kaitlin asked her. “These Krellians. Do they have tentacles?”
“No tentacles.”
“They’re big and blue,” Quinn said. “Though not as big and blue as the Bhaxians.”
“They’re okay,” Melody replied. “I’ve always thought of them as good guys. They’re a race of scientists. Very peaceable, which is probably why they came out on the losing side with the Bhaxians, who are a warrior race.”
“Scientists can be more dangerous than warriors,” Kane added.
“You’re right. The Krellians invented time travel and through that, a whole system was destroyed.
And the cataclysm was only possible because of their technology.
But their intentions are usually good. Presumably, they developed time travel so they could go back and rescue their DNA database from the ship before it blew.
They weren’t aware that it was time travel that had caused the explosion in the first place. ”
“So hopefully, they’re not going to try and kill us?” Jake said. “I’ve had enough of that for one night.”
“For one lifetime,” Kane muttered. “I’m going to settle down and grow cabbages.”
“Hah, not likely,” Kaitlin said. “I hate cabbage.”
They arrived at the side of the ship and peered up at the great hulk. Kane reached out a hand and stroked the smooth metal. He couldn’t see a door, but as he stared one formed in the side close to them, and he almost jumped back.
A moment later, the door slid open. A tall blue figure stood in the entrance. Blue skin, blue hair. But otherwise, he appeared humanoid.
Melody spoke in a language he didn’t understand. Complete gibberish.
The Krellian frowned. “You speak our language?”
“And you speak ours,” Melody said.
“We have already added your language to our translation matrix. But as far as we are aware, you do not have the technology here to do the same.”
“It’s a long story,” Melody said.
“And one we would love to hear when you are all rested.” He glanced around. “Who were you fighting? We watched and would have intervened, but the ship had gone into shutdown while the systems repaired themselves after the crash. We were unable to activate the doors until now.”
“They were a group paid by the Bhaxians to blow up your ship,” Melody said.
“I’m guessing that is part of your long story.”
“Yes. They came from the future. So did I.”
He frowned. “Time travel exists in the future?”
“Yes.”
“I would like to know more. But you have injured people in your group. Come inside, and we will see to your wounded. I am Krevil. Welcome. ”
He turned and a ramp appeared. Kane glanced around at the others. Jake shrugged. Kaitlin was already moving forward. Did she have no fear? No sense of self-preservation?
She turned and grinned. “Nope.”
At least life with Kaitlin would never be boring. Once again, he gave in to the inevitable and followed her.
The door led into a wide corridor, with silver walls and no obvious source of the warm yellow light.
Krevil was already disappearing, and they hurried after him.
He stopped by a door which opened onto a small empty room.
Once they were all inside, the doors closed and he got a sense of movement, a little like an elevator, except not up or down, but sideways.
When the door opened, it was into another room. This one had seating all around. “If you would wait here,” Krevil said, “we will treat your friends, then we will talk.”
Kane wasn’t letting Kaitlin out of his sight.
He’d done that before, and it never ended well.
He kept a tight grip on her hand as Krevil ushered her and Rose through another door and into what was clearly a medical facility.
He didn’t want them using some sort of alien technology on her unless he understood exactly what it did.
“Be cool,” she said, jumping up on a gurney that was obviously made for someone taller. She tugged her sweater over her head, leaving her in a black bra, and twisted her head so she could see her arm.
The wound looked clean—it was just an angry dark red burn slashing across her upper arm. “I guess I didn’t duck fast enough,” she said.
“Me neither.” Rose had an almost identical scar down her right arm.
“It stings, but not too bad,” Kaitlin said.
A second blue guy approached. He smiled.
“I am Torvil,” he said. “I run the medical facility here.” He gently touched Kaitlin’s arm, lifting it to examine the wound.
“I think it is clean. The heat cauterized the wound. I’ll clean it and put on a bandage.
I’d rather not use our medicines on your species until we have had a chance to check whether there are any unexpected side effects.
If it was a matter of life or death, then we would take the risk, but I think you will live without any extra assistance. ”
He gently cleaned the wound with a cloth and what looked like water, then wrapped a white bandage around the arm. A second medic was doing the same to Rose.