Chapter 4
HAL
The last two risings have passed one slow tic at a time.
I have been sitting here by her side, watching the machine help her breathe since her lungs filled with fluid.
I have witnessed the bruises fade and rubbed ointment into her hands and feet, helping them heal properly.
And as much as I want her to regain consciousness, I am terrified of how she will react when she does.
My comm unit pings.
I reach over and hit the button, only to see Father’s face appear above the screen.
“How is the patient this rising?”
“The same. Troza tells me this is normal and that the medically induced sleep is helping her body heal, but the silence worries me. I think if she would twitch a finger or something, I would feel better; the stillness seems unnatural.”
“SCOUT went over her vitals earlier. He said that she is healing and that he believes she will awaken soon. If he had not assured me of this, I would have sent one of the ships with a healing chamber to you, but you would have had to move her and flown her out to meet the ship, and sometimes that causes more harm than good.”
“Tell him I appreciate his concern, but Father, how did those Korgons get her … were there any others besides Dawn taken?”
“No. Dawn was the only one they got.”
He pauses, jaw tightening as the memory clearly plays through his mind again.
“She was out with KyT and Vedece, gathering herbs in the Timbers. Nothing unusual. The humans had already been warned about the risks, and we had gone over emergency procedures with everyone more times than I can count. If something went wrong, they knew exactly what they were supposed to do.”
He exhales slowly, his aggravation showing plainly.
“But no one anticipated this. As you know, when the asteroid moved into position, it sent Ethra into a deep freeze, interfering with communications and blocking the monitoring signals long enough to create a blind spot. The moment the signals dropped, they must have taken advantage of our blind spot and infiltrated. We were so focused on determining what was happening planetside, we didn’t realize what the Korgons were doing. ”
Father’s expression hardens.
“They found the gap in our defenses and took full advantage of it, infiltrating the area without triggering the usual alarms. KyT was the first to realize something was wrong, but by the time he saw them, they were already on top of Dawn.
He barely had time to shout a warning. Dawn never even had a chance to react.
MeK, BuK, and KyT managed to push the Korgons back and force them into a retreat, but the damage had already been done.
The Korgons had Dawn. ANDI immediately reached out for help.
Thankfully, SiN and Destiny were close enough to respond.
They got there as quickly as they could, but rescuing Dawn wasn’t as simple as boarding the Korgon ship and bringing her home.
We had to figure out how they had transported her, where they were holding her and, most importantly—how to get her off that ship without them killing her in the process. ”
He leans back, his frustration becoming more apparent.
“I know you have not had a lot of dealings with many other races, but the Korgons have an advancement that we still have not been able to duplicate. They can dematerialize themselves and other objects at will, and they can do it with an accuracy that’s frankly infuriating.
We’ve experimented with the same principle and can initiate the process, and we can even maintain it under controlled conditions for a limited time.
But we cannot guarantee the outcome. The transition is still too unstable.
That is why I refuse to let anyone use our version outside a controlled environment.
The Korgons do not have that limitation because they have no care about the consequences.
They do not value life the way we do. If one of their people disappears during a failed transition, they consider it an acceptable loss.
Their only concern is whether the technology works often enough to be useful. ”
“And apparently, it does.”
“Every time we have boarded one of their ships, we have found certain systems rigged for immediate destruction. They know exactly what we are looking for. The moment we gain access, specific modules begin destroying themselves, sometimes before our teams can even reach them. We’ve recovered fragments.
Components. Partial schematics. Enough information to know that the technology is real and that we are missing some fundamental piece of the theory. ”
He frowns.
“But every time we try to reproduce it, something goes wrong. The transition becomes unstable. The coordinates shift. The materialization point isn’t precise enough.
We have even had successful transfers that could not be repeated under identical conditions.
So, while we are trying to perfect the technology without risking anyone’s life, the Korgons are using it as a weapon.
And now they know it can be used to infiltrate us, bypass our defenses, and take someone before we even know they are there. ”
His voice lowers.
“Dawn was lucky. Thankfully, SiN and Destiny got to her before the Korgons could take her farther. But we cannot rely on luck the next time.”
Father folds his massive arms, his expression angry.
“Were they able to disable the Korgon ship?”
“Yes, Destiny is hauling it to Falcor now for repurposing.
Between ViN, SiN, and EvO, the Korgons on board were quickly eliminated, and no others were found, except for a few rare animals on board, which are being returned to their home planets.
From what we can tell, Dawn was the only other sentient being on board.
However, while searching the holding cells, they found evidence that other humans had been there previously.
They also recovered garment fragments and a small link from what your grandfather called a watch.
The really bad news is that they found an Earth pod in the cargo hold.
EvO is extremely upset now that we know some of the pods were either missed or knocked even further off course.
SCOUT is scanning all possible routes again, but I fear we will keep finding random evidence like this for a while.
After all, Ember, Miya, and Ginger were all located in different locations when found. ”
“How many know that Dawn is here?”
“Several, but none that will leak the information to anyone. It will be logged that she perished, and hopefully that will keep her safe until we can come and retrieve her.”
A growl leaves my throat, and I feel my beast emerging. “She is going nowhere!”
Father gives me a rare smile. “Am I missing something, Son?”
“Dawn is mine, and I will fight anyone who tries to take her from me.”
Father’s entire form appears on the other side of the room, and I stand as he looks at me, then Dawn, who has no idea the violence about to erupt in this room around her.
“Your mating marks … they are pulsing, HaL. Are you saying that Dawn is your mate?”
“Yes!”
A huge smile breaks out on his face. “Congratulations, as this does change things. The compatibility these humans have with my sons always surprises me, and I wonder if it is because you all have a small part of me in your essence or simply the Lord of Light playing matchmaker?”
Before he can say anything else, Troza walks in. “What is all this growling I am hearing in here? If you have upset my patient, young male, you will not like the consequences …”
Her voice stops the second she notices DaR, and for a tic, I see something pass between them I have never noticed before.
“Commander, forgive me for interrupting.”
“Troza, it is a pleasure after all these years. It is good to see you looking so well.”
“Thank you, Commander. The Lord of Light has blessed me tenfold. Has our HaL told you about Dawn?”
‘OUR HaL????’ This statement seems to settle heavily in my mind.
“He has, and I will say I am shocked and thankful all at once. Now the only question is: how is a human going to live on Hallister? We all know your species cannot live long-term anywhere else.”
“Commander, I have a few females working on insulated, internally heated garments, but I still believe her survival will be a challenge. Soft skins are not designed for extremes, neither hot nor cold.”
Father’s holo form starts to pace on the other side of Dawn’s bed. Something I have watched him do many times when he is trying to work out an issue.
“Because I have not been planetside on Hallister more than a few times, what is the max temperature you all can stand long-term? I can tell by the sheen on HaL’s body that this room is too hot for him, and my Kira would be cold in here.”
“In our uninsulated forms, we are just as vulnerable to the extreme cold as many others, but for our inner beasts … normally anything in the plus range becomes uncomfortable quickly.”
Father walks closer to the bed, peering down at Dawn.
“This problem should prove interesting. I will ask SAGE if she can help design something that would help make her more comfortable here. I do not know if you two are aware of this, but Dawn also has what they call ‘allergies.’ The poor girl’s body seems to react negatively to many textiles and most types of flora. ”
Troza looks at Father, then me. “I do not know of this affliction you speak of.”
“I will have ANDI forward all the information he has on the subject, Troza. It is sad, really. He was just getting her dose calibrated correctly so she could live comfortably on Ethra with the other humans when the Korgon took her. I am sure she was quite miserable not only from the abuse she received from them, but also from her own body’s reaction to their putridness.
You will need to inform her that she cannot return to Ethra, not only because of the obvious bond, but because whoever purchased her will be watching.
We are going to deliberately leave gaps in our surveillance so we can identify who is behind these attacks on her kind and see whether they will attempt it again.
SiN has gathered evidence, but it is not sufficient enough yet for a conviction; in this matter, we must prove it beyond a doubt.
The repercussions could become unbearable for our family if not. ”
“Father, I will let my people know that her presence here is to be kept a secret. I just hope she is not disappointed in being stuck here once she is healed.”
“HaL, I do not envy your next few risings. These females may be small, but they have huge personalities, and they never think what you believe they will, One piece of advice … assume nothing. It is much safer to ask her straight out.”
This entire time, Troza has been watching us interact with a small smile on her face. I see Father turn, but because he is using his holo form, I cannot see who he is interacting with. When he turns back, I can see the frustration on his face.
“HaL, keep me updated on her progress, and Troza, it was nice to see you again. Strength and honor, Son.”
And then he is gone and the entire room feels as if it has grown many feet without his huge presence.
“He is still larger than life, I see.”
“Who, Father?”
“Unless there was someone else in here with us, then yes, your father.”
“I do not envy him or the responsibilities that lie upon his large shoulders. I was unaware that you two knew each other so well, besides the updates you gave him when I was little.”
Troza opens her mouth, then closes it before turning back to Dawn. “We conversed occasionally. Your father is a very honorable male, and I think highly of him.”
And once again, I feel like I am missing something very important. I am just about to question her further when Dawn suddenly opens her eyes. I can tell she is in a daze. So, I move closer, leaning over her slightly so she can see me better. The moment her eyes lock onto mine, she screams.