Bianca D'Arc (4 page)

“
That is a side effect of the gas.
It should clear up within a standard hour. Any double
vision?”

“
No.” The doctor asked a few more
questions about his condition, making notes on his chart. “How is
she? Will she recover?”

The doctor looked from Alex to Della and back again.
“Her smaller body mass absorbed the same dose you did and she was
exposed a longer time. We have reviewed the security vids beamed to
our ship from the station. I believe the soldiers are a little in
awe of her.” The doctor smiled at her unconscious form, then turned
back to Alex. “I was allowed to view the vid to determine dosage.
She was exposed one point seven standard minutes before you were.
My calculations predict she will begin to wake in approximately one
hour. After that, we will see.”

“
But will she be all right? Will
there be any lasting damage?”

“
That I cannot tell until she
wakes. She will be our guide in determining further treatment, if
it becomes necessary. Such is the nature of this kind of poisoning.
My tests can tell me only so much without patient
input.”

“
Thank you, doctor. I
understand.”

Alex kept vigil at Della’s bedside. He watched her
breathe, able to look his fill at her beautiful face for the first
time ever. Before, he could only watch her when she wasn’t aware of
it. He’d steal glances at her as she worked at the bar. Her every
move enchanted him.

He knew it wasn’t healthy, this fascination he had
with her, but he was helpless against it. She was beautiful inside
and out. She was brave and clever and gifted. She was more woman
than he deserved. She could never be his, so he tried to content
himself with watching her from afar.

Unrequited love was a bitch. But it was the only
kind of love he could have. The only kind he would allow
considering his Enhancement.

“
Do you know that you have a large
percentage of jit’suku DNA in your cells?”

The question was blunt and astonishing. The man
asking was the older gentleman from the entourage. He’d come into
the med facility and walked right up to the other side of Alex’s
bunk without him noticing. He was slipping, that was for sure. Alex
was usually much more alert than this.

The question the man had asked reverberated around
in his mind. Could it be possible? As he waited for Alex to answer,
the man pushed a button that caused a clear partition to fall from
the ceiling, into the floor, cutting them off from the rest of the
room. Alex appreciated the privacy for this startling
conversation.

“
I had some gene therapy, but I
don’t know—”

“
Sure you do.” The old man cut him
off. “Or if you did not before, you do now.” One corner of his
mouth lifted at his own little joke. “The question is, did you
realize the DNA within you is traceable to one jit’suku male in
particular?”

Alex was appalled. He’d agreed to Enhancement but he
hadn’t realized it would alter him quite that way. The science team
hadn’t gone into much detail about what they were doing to him and
frankly, he hadn’t cared at the time. Now, however, he was having a
very rude awakening.

“
I can see you did not.” The old
man stood very straight, his expression unreadable. “While you were
unconscious the doctors ran tests. Many of the traits coded into
your Y chromosomes are definitely jit’suku in nature. Your X
chromosomes are purely human. You are a hybrid.” The man’s
expression seemed to change, to grow more curious. “Which is
strange, because I do not recall ever breeding with a human
female.”

“
You?” Alex didn’t quite
understand.

“
Your Y chromosomes contain many
traits identical to mine down to the last molecule. Yet there are
also parts of the Y that are human. The physical aspects of the way
you look, for example. It is a very strange phenomenon that I do
not fully comprehend even after multiple explanations by the
doctors.” He looked through the clear partition that had been
erected to keep them private from the rest of the infirmary.
Several doctors were seated at lab benches or desks, working. “They
tell me you contain enough of my DNA to be considered a
son.”

“
You’ve got to be kidding.” Alex
was floored by the idea.

“
I am afraid not. You do not
realize the full complexity of this problem. Yet I am curious as to
how you came to be. Were you born this way?”

“
No, sir. I was born human. Bigger
and faster than most, but still purely human.” He figured he owed
this man the truth. Plus, his fate—and Della’s—was in this man’s
hands. He had to keep him friendly. Alex wouldn’t tell him anything
he didn’t already know or would be able to figure out given enough
time. “I became a soldier. Some fancy flying in the Billatong
Engagement got me noticed by my superiors and I was drafted for
Special Forces. From there I was invited to take part in a special
program of gene therapy. They didn’t tell us much about what they
were doing but after I got through with the docs I was stronger,
faster and had sharper senses. Whatever they did made me better
than I was before. I suppose, if you’re to be believed, that’s due
in some part to you, so you have my thanks.”

“
I spent time among humans in your
galaxy. I, too, went on covert operations in my youth.” The man
gave Alex a sly hint of a smile. “I believe I understand how your
scientists might have gotten my DNA. I just can’t believe they
would have dared use it in such a way. They spliced some of my
traits into you. My eye color, for example.”

“
Yeah, my eyes changed after the
treatment. They’d always been blue but they took on this aqua shade
after I finished with the therapy.” Alex realized then that the old
man had the same startling aqua eyes. It was like looking into a
mirror.

“
So.” The man sat down, both hands
on his thighs as he regarded Alex. “We must decide what to do about
all this.”

“
What do you mean
do
? I’m sorry they took
your DNA without permission and I surely had no idea the treatment
I’d taken had turned me into some kind of human-jit’suku hybrid,
but I like the way I am now. I don’t want to
do
anything about it.”

“
It is not the Zenai way to ignore
our progeny.”

“
Zenai? Stars! You’re a holy man?”
That just made it all worse. Alex had heard about the famous Zenai
priests. They were celibate after joining the priesthood. Most
joined young and never had offspring, but some joined later in life
after the loss of their spouse. “I’m so sorry.”

The old priest looked at him with surprise in his
aqua gaze. “Yes, I believe you are. That’s a start. You have a
compassionate heart, which is good to see. I think we can build on
that.” The old priest stood, nimble as a young man.

“
You will be quartered on the ship
once they release you from the infirmary.”

“
Will Della and I be kept
together?”

The old priest looked from Alex to Della and back
again, a hint of a smile lighting his face. “It’s like that, is it?
Good. I will leave word for you to be quartered together. You will
be locked in except during the hours from lunch until dinner. After
lunch in the mess, I expect you to come to me. We will seek a path
together, learning our way as we go.”

Alex had no idea what that last bit meant, but this
guy was a priest. In his experience, holy men always seemed to talk
in riddles.

“
What about Della?” Alex didn’t
like to think of her alone among all these jit’suku men.

“
I understand your lady is a
professional card dealer. There is always a game of chance taking
place in the off duty crew lounge. I believe she would be most
welcome there. We don’t allow the men to play for anything of
monetary value but they do get into some serious games over prized
duties and shifts—that sort of thing. You have my word she will
come to no harm on this ship. Every last man here is loyal to our
house. You and your lady saved Tren’s life and have earned his
regard. More than that, I will likely soon acknowledge you as my
progeny. No one on this ship will seek to harm you. In fact, the
opposite will be true.”

“
Why?” Alex was getting a scary
image in his mind.

“
Because I am Theos. I was once
Emperor, and now, you are my son.”

Chapter Four

Tangled webs, indeed. It all came clear in a flash.
By giving Theos’s DNA to Alex, they had created a potentially huge
problem for the ruling line of jit’suku emperors. Theos had
abdicated his throne in favor of his brother, Thadios, after
Theos’s wife was killed. He’d had no children.

Now all of a sudden, he had a son. What a mess.

“
I assume you have no desire to
try to claim my brother’s throne?” Theos regarded him with a hard
stare.

“
None whatsoever, your highness,”
Alex answered honestly.

“
Good.” Theos nodded. “And you can
drop the title. I am simply Father Theos now, though many still
insist on calling me other things.” Amusement twinkled in his eyes
for a short moment. “I will meditate more on it, but I believe you
must come to Solarus Prime with us. There you will take part in a
renunciation ceremony in front of the High Priest. I abdicated on
my own behalf, not knowing I had progeny anywhere. You must
renounce any claim to the throne for yourself and all others who
might have been created like you, as well as your progeny. I will
not have this coming back to haunt Tren’s children a century from
now.”

Tren. The young man they’d saved on the station. He
was heir to the jit’suku empire. No wonder Della had been so
adamant about saving his life. If the heir had been murdered in
human space… Well, the consequences of such an act didn’t bear
thinking about.

“
I’ll do whatever you wish, to set
your mind at ease about Tren’s future and his descendants,” Alex
readily agreed. “However, I would beg a promise of safe passage to
and from Solarus Prime for myself and Della. We started this
journey in good faith, trying to save a life. We would rather not
forfeit our own.”

“
Well said and I concur. For what
you did to save Tren, we owe you thanks. Safe passage is the least
we can give you. As long as you perform the renunciation ceremony,
you will leave our galaxy with my blessings.”

“
Thank you, Father Theos.” Alex
knew he’d just won a major concession though the man had tried to
make it sound trivial. Few humans who entered jit’suku space ever
returned to tell the tale.

Father Theos left them a short while later. The
doctor came back to check Della’s progress.

“
How is she?” Alex heard the hint
of desperation in his own voice.

“
Statistically, her condition
continues to improve. She should wake soon. We’ll know more when
she can talk to us.” The doctor moved to check the readings on the
side of Alex’s bed, where a small console displayed all the
information the bed collected on his condition. “You, on the other
hand, should be well enough to move to quarters shortly. I’ll begin
making the arrangements.”

When the doctor would have turned away, Alex shot
out a hand to stop him. He gripped the man’s arm, catching his
attention.

“
I won’t leave her. Father Theos
said we would be quartered together.”

The doctor seemed surprised. “I see. Well, we can
work around that, certainly.”

The doctor was as good as his word. Soon after Della
roused for a short period, they were moved together to a nice room
of adequate size to house them both. Alex walked there under his
own steam but Della had to be transported on a med bed. She’d been
awake long enough to answer the doctor’s questions and send Alex a
weak smile, but that was all. She’d fallen asleep again within a
minute or two.

The doctor had assured Alex that was to be expected.
He’d also seen no reason, given her answers to his diagnostic
questions, why she couldn’t be moved to quarters as long as she
continued to be monitored remotely.

The next time Della woke, Alex was there beside her.
She wore small sensor pads on her pulse points and he’d moved her
to the large bed in their quarters, tucking her in to make her more
comfortable.

After some internal debate, he’d pushed aside
worries about getting too involved with her. They were the only two
humans on a jit flagship, headed for Solaris Prime. If they made it
out of this alive, they’d deal with the repercussions then. For
now, Alex had decided to live for the moment and enjoy every last
second he had with Della. The only woman he would ever love.

He’d come to some stark realizations over the past
hours. He recognized himself for a fool and cursed the time they’d
wasted. He also cursed himself for allowing her to get embroiled in
this mess that could very well lead to both their deaths, despite
Father Theos’s assurances.

Alex acknowledged the deep feelings he’d carried
inside his heart for Della for months now. If not for this
extraordinary situation, he would’ve continued to ignore the almost
magnetic pull that existed between them, but now all bets were off.
Neither of them might survive this situation. The least he could do
was give her honesty.

He loved her and he was confident enough to think
she was attracted to him as well. She’d pushed his buttons often
enough for him to know she admired him physically. He’d always
rebuffed her small advances and he’d seen the hurt in her eyes as
she did her best to make light of the situation. He was through
hurting her. He was through ignoring their mutual attraction.