21. Chapter 21
The debrief went almost how Marissa expected. She confirmed who she was, that she hadn”t been compromised, and what exactly had happened with Cooper. They made notes about what she knew about being matched with him and how he”d kept her alive and sane while they were underground.
She could tell they were concerned about an alien who could read her mind if she let him. It was a security concern if nothing else and she could see her clearances and any hope of promotion vanishing as she talked. Somehow, that didn”t bother her as much as it would have in the past.
”How are the Orvax handling the loss of their communication device?” she asked.
The Base Commander sighed. ”Better than expected but they”re using it to push for a few things. Most of which wouldn”t be a problem in any sane world but we”re getting push back from places I hadn”t expected it.”
”The creatures who kidnapped us have been doing this a very long time,” Marissa mused. ”And the girl who was trying to save me had worked with a lot of human women before me. They have to have contacts in the human world.”
”What kind of contacts are you thinking?”
Marissa grinned. ”You know how we”re always joking about the government being run by lizard people?”
The Commander made a face. ”I hate that you might actually be right. It would explain some of what”s going on with Captain LaGrange.”
”Is he-”
”Being evacuated to the Orvax ship as soon as they”re done here. They were running a rescue mission of their own, from what I understand, and had the shuttle nearby.”
Marissa nodded. ”Understood. Sir, I know my being matched with Cooper may cause problems but-”
”Major, I want to make one thing very clear to you,” the Base Commander interrupted her and leaned forward. ”Whatever you think might be coming, you are not allowed to fall on your sword and sacrifice your career or your life. Is that understood?”
”Yes, sir,” she said after a moments pause.
”The world is changing and it”s likely you”re going to be sent in a different direction but you didn”t get where you are by being stupid or bad at your job. Officers get married all the time. Your relationship isn”t going to change how you do your job, is it?”
”No, sir,” she said slowly.
”Glad to hear it,” he said, straightening. ”So, I think we”re done here for the moment. I”m sending you over to medical for a check up. I suspect you”ll be on light duty for a while. Report any problems you have directly to me. Understood?”
”Yes, sir,” Marissa said.
”Good, now, go so I can get back to work.”
They both stood up and Marissa saluted before the guard opened the door to let her out of the room.
She was on her way to medical when she realized she should have asked if she could take a shower first. It wouldn”t be her first time showing up covered in dirt and blood but she didn”t like making a habit of it.
When she walked in, she first noticed the Orvax she didn”t recognize leaning against one of the door frames. He was talking with two human women in an alcove, one of whom she did remember as one of the doctors stationed on the base, and they stopped talking when she walked in.
”Ah, perfect timing,” the doctor said warmly. Her name tag said Johnson and Marissa was trying to remember if they”d ever spoken before. ”You”re here for a check up after your ordeal, right? Major Ozark?”
”Yes, ma”am,” Marissa said with a nod.
”Excellent, I have that room set up for you, there should be a change of clothes in there. Just pop them on and I”ll be in momentarily.”
The doctor propelled her into the curtained off alcove and pulled the fabric closed behind her. A set of PT shorts and a tank top were sitting on the bed and Marissa raised her eyebrow at it before she started getting changed.
”If you”re sure there”s nothing else I can do for you here?” the doctor asked the other patients.
”To be honest, Doc, I”m still not sure how human medicine compares with Orvax. Strings has a really good basic automated system but, well, I wanted to make sure she got looked over by someone besides a computer. If Bowsie were available-”
”Yes, I”d have preferred to keep her here myself but that wasn”t a decision I got to make.”
”Understood,” the Orvax replied. ”But if you”re sure Dorcas is going to be okay, I”d like to get her home as soon as I can.”
Somehow, Marissa knew that he wasn”t referring to any place on Earth when the Orvax male talked about taking the woman home.
”You want your privacy.” Marissa could hear the knowing tone in the doctors voice and felt a small moment of envy. ”I completely understand. As far as I can tell, she”s going to be fine.”
”Thank you, doctor,” another woman”s voice cut in. ”That”s actually really nice to hear. We”ll get out of your hair so you can help your next patient.”
Marissa sat on the exam table as they walked by and the doctor opened the curtain to her alcove just as the door shut.
”Major Marissa Ozark,” the doctor said with a smile. ”I understand you”ve had quite the adventure.”
”You could say that,” Marissa said.
”You”re looking remarkably well for someone who was kidnapped,” she said, and pulled the clipboard out of its holder on the wall. ”And discovered a new alien species as well.”
”Some of that was a misunderstanding,” Marissa said, trying to keep her answers vague. She didn”t know who had been briefed about Cooper and the rest of the aliens but she figured keeping as much as she could to herself would be a good idea for a while. ”And my team was incredibly quick coming to find me.”
”With a little help from our alien friends,” the doctor said with a smirk. ”Amazing how much technology the Orvax have that they”ve kept hidden.”
Marissa shrugged. ”I wouldn”t know anything about that. I”m just glad they got there.”
”I”m sure you did,” the doctor said. ”The initial information I got said that you”d been tortured but I”m not seeing evidence of that. I”m supposed to do a kit on you, standard procedure, but I can make a note if you”d prefer I don”t.”
”What do you mean?”
”Well, just think what it would mean for your career if you claimed they hurt you but the only samples I collect belong to a ”misunderstanding”?”
If she”d had hackles, Marissa would have raised them. As it was, a flush of anger roared through her so intense that she was surprised at how restrained her response was.
”Please do the kit,” she said, her voice clipped. ”I wasn”t raped but I would very much like to follow procedure for this.”
”Are you sure? I”d hate to get your young man in trouble.”
”Actually,” Marissa said. ”I”ve changed my mind. Go get the Base Commander and one of the nurses. I”m uncomfortable with your behavior.”
”I”ll do the kit if you insist,” the doctor said. ”There”s no need to get angry about it. Kinda odd insisting on it if you”re also going to say you weren”t raped. Might make people think he forced you to say that. I understand some of these aliens can be like that.”
Marissa, where are you?Cooper asked suddenly.
She”d been trying to give him privacy for his own debrief and he hadn”t been more than a comforting presence in the back of her mind for hers.
I”m in medical,she answered.
Who”s in there with you?
Just the doctor.
Get out. Get to where there are more people.
The urgency in his voice had her off the table and on her feet. ”On second thought, I”ll go get the Base Commander myself. I”m done here.”
She pushed past the doctor, only to find that the door to medical had been locked. It wasn”t much of a lock but it slowed her down and Doctor Johnson grabbed her arm and turned her around, only to slam her back into the door.
The doctor grabbed Marissa by the throat and smacked the back of her head against the door again, making her ears ring and her eyes see stars.
”You don”t have to do that,” the Doctor said, her eyes strangely intense. ”I”ll follow procedure. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing. How this might affect your career. You might pass the psych eval but nobody is going to trust someone who marries their rapist.”
Her hand squeezed and Marissa felt something try to slither into her mind as her breath was cut off and her head began to buzz.
Then Cooper was there, a cool barrier around her mind, and she could think enough to fight back. Seconds later, the doctor was on the ground clutching her broken arm and Marissa was out the door, running towards her mate.
She rounded a corner and jumped into his arms before anybody else registered she was there.
”I”ve got you,” he said into her hair while she wrapped her legs around his waist.
”Boss, you”re bleeding,” one of his guards said.
Marissa looked up and realized her vision wasn”t great just as the light announced her headache. She hid her face against Cooper”s neck.
”Concussion,” she said, trying to project her voice and keep her head from splitting open. ”Doc attacked me.”
Her explanation was met by the sound of running boots and someone making a call for MP”s. Cooper followed behind at a more sedate pace.
””m sorry,” she mumbled against his neck. ”I can walk.”
”No, you cannot,” he corrected her. ”Even if you”re capable of it, I won”t allow it.”
When they got back to the room Marissa had bolted out of, the Base Commander was already there, along with a couple military police and a nurse.
”Major Ozark,” the Commander said. ”Why are you bleeding?”
”I don”t know what came over me,” Doctor Johnson exclaimed. ”It”s like something else was controlling my body. I”ve never done anything like that before!”
”Get the arm fixed then take her into custody,” the Commander said. ”I have a few calls to make.”
”For what it”s worth, sir, I believe her,” Cooper said. ”I don”t think she was in control of her own mind at the time.”
”Noted,” the Commander said. ”Major Ozark, I”m sending you to your quarters to await medical care until your attacker has been removed from the immediate area. You are to stay there until you have been given clearance to walk.”
”Yes, sir,” Marissa said, her face still buried against the light in Cooper”s neck.
”Can you find her bed?” he asked Cooper.
”Yes, sir,” Cooper said. ”I”ll take care of her.”
He didn”t wait to be dismissed and just turned and started walking towards her room. She would ask him how he found it without asking for directions or got in without help but that would be later.
Without turning the lights on, he walked her to her bed and laid her down, the door closing behind him. He turned away from the bed and she held out her hand.
”Don”t go,” she said softly.
”I need to find something to wash the blood out of your hair,” he told her.
”I know but let that wait, please. I need you.”
She felt his gentle touch on her mind and let him in to hear the words that she couldn”t say out loud. After everything she”d been through, everything she”d done, the momentary invasion by the wicked, wriggling, snake-bed thoughts had pushed her too far.
What Ae-cha had done was torture but it hadn”t been intended to harm her. As brief as the invasion had been, it was a violation unlike anything she”d ever experienced and she needed her mate.