Chapter Twenty-Four
Michaela looked as shell-shocked as Ruyn felt.
He was infecting her? How could this happen?
How could they have a future together if physical intimacy would kill her?
Wracking his brain, he realized they had had sex before every allergy attack, but that had to be a coincidence. It had to be! “Are you sure?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I’m sure.”
“Is it only me she’s allergic to, or is it all Luturnans?” Could their respective species be incompatible?
“You. You were infected with an alien bioengineered nanocyte that produces the sexually transmitted antigen.”
“But you can cure him, right?” She twisted her hands in her lap.
The doctor didn’t speak.
“You can, can’t you?”
“I contacted my colleagues on Oberia as well as Dr. Stratos, who invented the analyzer we use. I transmitted the test results and sent them the blood samples, in hopes they can neutralize what Ruyn now carries. The organic part of the nanocyte produces the antigen, but the robotic coating protects the organics.”
“So, you’re saying there’s no cure,” Ruyn deadpanned.
“I’m saying we don’t have one yet. We haven’t encountered anything like this, but I’m cautiously hopeful my colleagues in conjunction with Dr. Stratos can come up with a solution. Stratos is brilliant, and we’ve had some success developing antivirals.”
“It’s a virus, then? I thought it was a nanocyte,” she said.
“The nanocyte functions like a virus, invading the host’s cells and forcing them to do its bidding. The nanocyte in Ruyn has turned the interstitial cells of his testes into a factory for the antigen, which then hitches a ride when he ejaculates.”
“How did I get infected? Was it sexually transmitted to me? I haven’t slept with anyone other than Michaela since my last leave more than two years ago,” he said. He hadn’t been celibate prior to meeting her, but he hadn’t been promiscuous either.
“It got passed to you through something you ingested. The authorities are taking over tracing to locate the guilty party,” the doctor said.
“It was Murta,” Michaela said grimly.
“What?” Ruyn snapped his gaze to hers.
“Murta infected you.”
“Mama Murta? No. I can’t believe it.” He shook his head.
“She’s Prellim.”
“What? No. She couldn’t be.”
“She’s Prellim. Korsan told me. Right before I walked in here.”
Mama? The woman who loved cooking and feeding people?
The self-appointed matchmaker? The former Luturnan defense minister?
And if so, how would Korsan know? What kind of trouble had he gotten into?
And for stars’ sake, why wouldn’t he have reported it?
The Prellims didn’t just run a galactic criminal syndicate, they were terrorists.
Michaela reached out and grasped his hand. “So, what happens next?”
“My colleagues on Oberia will get to work on developing a serum,” Dr. Kurur said. “Because the nanocyte invades the host’s own cells, the challenge is to eradicate it without killing the host.”
Me. I’m the host. The good news is, the treatment was a success; the bad news is, the patient died.
“If they can neutralize the nanocyte, you’ll be notified right away. In the meantime, you must abstain from sexual intercourse.”
If. If. If. The word reverberated in his brain. This could affect them for the rest of their lives. He loved her. No matter what, he wanted to be with her, but the idea they might never be able to be physically intimate devastated him.
“How long will it take before they can develop a serum?” Michaela asked. “Are we talking weeks? Months? Years?”
“I can’t say. This case has the potential to affect the entire planet, the galaxy. Authorities have deemed this a biowarfare issue, a planetary and galactic security concern. But I’ll be honest, while I’m hopeful, success is not assured.”
“Could we, um…use a barrier method in the meantime?” she asked.
“Barrier to what? I don’t understand,” the doctor said.
“Could we have sex with a condom?”
The doctor frowned, looking as confused as Ruyn. Condom? What was she talking about?
“A prophylactic. People on Earth use them to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. A sheath fitting over the penis contains the ejaculate.”
“Ah. In theory I suppose that might protect you, unless the antigen is capable of passing through the membrane. And if the sheath broke? One more exposure to the antigen will kill you. Of that, I’m 100 percent certain.”
Ruyn flinched, and Michaela inhaled audibly.
“Is it…is…it because I’m human that I react to the antigen? Or would he have the same effect on Luturnans, too?”
“All indications are, it would occur with anyone he is intimate with.”
She looked like she was fighting tears, and he felt gut-punched by reality as their future evaporated right before his eyes.
Without him, she could lead a normal life, enjoy a normal intimate relationship.
Holding her to the promises they made wouldn’t be fair to her.
He wanted to howl, pound the wall, but he had to let her go.
She’d probably already reached that conclusion herself.
“Which leads to one more thing,” the doctor said.
Phuk. What now? Every time the doctor opened his mouth, the situation got worse.
“An agent from Galpol is waiting to speak to you both.”
“The Galactic Police Organization is involved?” Her voice rose.
“Michaela and I need to…confer…first,” he said. “The news you delivered is…disturbing to say the least.”
“The situation is far from hopeless,” the doctor said, and Ruyn almost laughed.
Thus far, everything he’d said had been devastating.
“As I said, Stratos is a genius. If anyone can figure this out, he can.” Dr. Kurur stood up.
“I’ll have my nurse take you to a quiet space where you can have your conversation, and I’ll direct the Galpol agent to meet you there. ”
The nurse-tech’s woeful expression, meant to be sympathetic, made the bleak situation worse. Again, he’d become an object of pity, only this time, he’d dragged the woman he loved into his doomed life.
The quiet space turned out to be a hexagonal serene blue-gray room with low padded benches facing a niche with a figurine of a cross-legged Luturnan in a state of meditative bliss.
Wall sconces cast a flickering light, and hidden diffusers scented the air with the essence of kalmur, an aromatic herb supposed to have a relaxing effect on the nerves.
He wanted to smash the diffuser against the statue’s contented, peaceful face.
“Stay as long as you like,” the nurse-tech said and left.
Michaela’s quivering lip and teary eyes almost undid him. Say it before she does. “You need to live your life without me. Go home to Earth. Forget me.” Pain squeezed his chest in an iron grip.
“Is that what you want? For me to forget you? Are you going to forget me?”
“I’ll never forget you. But you can be happy with someone else. You can marry a nice human man”—Ruyn hated him already—“and have the life you dream of.”
“The life I dream of is with you!”
“We can’t be intimate!”
“So, you only want me for sex.”
“No! I want you to be happy! It kills me to think of you moving on without me, but it’s best for you.”
“The best for me is to be with you.”
She didn’t understand the situation. They weren’t talking about a few weeks of abstinence but a lifetime.
The doctor said he was cautiously hopeful they could cure him, but reading between the lines revealed the odds were very, very slim.
“But for how long? Desire won’t go away.
We’ll be living in a state of constant frustration and denial. ”
“Intercourse isn’t the only way to have sex. And I’m willing to take the very small risk and use a condom.”
“I’m not. You almost died! You heard the doctor.
One more exposure, and you will die.” Why couldn’t she understand!
He wrenched his gaze away from her imploring expression and focused on the statue.
He clenched his fists. The room needed a punching bag, not incense and a stone statue with a mocking grin.
“You’re giving up,” she accused.
“I’m being realistic.” Please don’t make this harder than it already is.
She shook her head. “Rather than wait and see what happens, you’re giving up. You’re accepting as inevitable something that may not happen because you’re afraid.”
“You’re phukking right I’m afraid! I’m afraid I could kill you!”
“You won’t kill me. I won’t let you.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He tried to remain unyielding, stiff, but he caved and hung on to her for dear life.
“Don’t give up on us, please. I’m not giving up. I need you. I love you. We can fight this together,” she said.
“It won’t end the way we want.”
“Maybe it won’t. But maybe it will. I’m willing to bet on a maybe.”
His whole adult life had been spent fighting. As a soldier, he’d fought his government’s battles. Home on leave, he'd taken a shortcut and had his entire military career destroyed. Critically injured, he’d had to fight for recovery, fight to even walk again.
Now, he had to fight to be with the woman he loved, and no matter how hard he fought, how much he persevered, he had no control over the outcome. Their future hinged on an alien researcher being interested enough to pursue a cure—and hopefully finding one.
If he stayed in the battle, and then lost her, it would kill him.
That was what scared him. Losing her.
Someone cleared his throat. A familiar-looking man stood in the doorway. “Ruyn and Michaela Perine? I’m Agent Tervik with the Galactic Police Organization. I need to ask you a few questions.”
Not now. Ruyn scowled, but Michaela stepped out of his embrace and said, “Fine.”
Consumed by a deep sense of loss, he wanted to grab her, hold her, pretend their future hadn’t just been ripped away from them.
“Shall we sit?” The agent motioned.
They took one bench, their backs to the mocking statue, and the agent sat across from them.
“Do I know you?” Michaela cocked her head. “I passed you in the hall earlier, but besides that, I mean. Have we met before?”