Finding Jess (First Wave) (6 page)

“I was able to run scans on the
collar last night while Gibly, and I was in MedLab. The scans show that dozens
of tiny crystals and metals have formed a unique circuitry like pattern
underneath the green and white gemstones that you can see on the outside. It’s
beautiful, almost like looking at artwork in its design.” Amun spoke with such
reverence that Jess blushed deeply.

“I would like to see that later please.”
Lagor spoke for the first time. As the engineering commander of the ship
Draconia, the thought that her gift could create circuitry fascinated him. And
it might give him something to talk to her, about so he could get to know her.
They were going to tell her after this meeting that he was her father’s brother
and that her great father was still alive.

“I’ll send a copy of the scans to
your comm.” Amun pulled out a small flat pad and started tapping it lightly,
sending the scans to Lagor.

More exhaustion washed through Jess
in a wave that would have brought her to her knees had she been standing. What
was wrong with her? Had Amun done something to her? She stood up quickly, the
room tilting slightly as she steadied herself. She struggled to get to the
door, the voices coming at her as if in a tunnel. Stumbling, she held tightly
to the hand that had grabbed her own, her other hand hitting the table. She
wasn’t sure if she imagined the bright flash in the room before everything went
dark.

*****

Amun could tell something was wrong
with Jess seconds before she stood up and began swaying on her feet. He stood
up quickly intending to help her when she stumbled into Ivint. He was standing
behind her as Ivint tried to steady her when she began to shake almost violently.

He was running scans on her before
he even reached her side. A bright flash blinded the room before everything
went dark.

“What the hell happened?” Ivint
shouted.

“I don’t know sir! We’re checking.”

A few moments later the room began to
light, the light stones casting eerie shadows around the room. Amun kneeled
next to Jess, who was passed out in Ivint’s arms; her hand still wrapped
tightly around his wrist.

“What did she do to me?” Ivint
asked nervously.

“What do you mean?” Scaden moved around
Cari to look at his father at the same time she did.

Covering Ivint’s chest was what
could only be described as an ancient breastplate. The light stones glinted off
of the gold; green and silver metals brushed into an intricate design around
what looked like a fierce looking Sibiox made entirely out of different colored
gemstones.

Walking around his father, Scaden
could see that the breastplate covered his entire chest front and back and he
didn’t see a clasp or way to take it off.

“Sir, this entire room has been
stripped of every metal and crystal from the computers and sensors. I think
it’s safe to assume that is what she used to make… that.” Lagor said in a
stunned voice.

“Every mineral level in her body is
dangerously low; I’m taking her to MedLab.” Without waiting for permission,
Amun picked Jess up and carried her from the room.

With Jess out of his arms, Ivint
got a better look at what was covering his chest. It wasn’t uncomfortable; in
fact, it moved and breathed with him like a second skin, yet was hard to the
touch.

“I think we need to get you to
MedLab and let Amun scan it, so we can get a better look at it.” Lagor
suggested as he tried to hide his excitement at being able to look at it more
closely.

“Jess made pretty! It’s Gibly!”
Gibly said putting his paw on the front of Ivint’s chest.

“It appears that way, Gibly.” Ivint
said, standing up. He shrugged his shoulders testing his mobility in the
breastplate and noticed that it conformed perfectly to his movements.

“We need to have her design our
armor; this thing is really comfortable.” Ivint tried to sound light hearted,
although he was a little apprehensive about the breastplate.

“I want a full ship analysis. I
want to know if the loss of any of this…” he said pointing to his chest, “has impacted
the security of this ship.”

“Send the reports to me in MedLab.
Lagor, come with us. I want you to look at the scans and tell me what you
think.” Ivint headed out the door to MedLab wondering how the hell he was
supposed to figure any of this out when the hits kept coming.

“What is her condition?” He asked
as soon as he walked through the MedLab doors.

“She’s stable, but in a
semi-comatose state, and I have no idea why. Her brain scans are showing
increased activity in a previously dormant area of her brain, which I’m
assuming is her gift.” Amun said turning from Jess.

“Let’s get this thing scanned and
see what we’re dealing with.” Amun walked up to Ivint and began scanning the
breastplate, putting the pictures on the vid screen.

Lagor stood in front of the screen
in amazement. What he was looking at was a complex circuit system made entirely
out of crystals and metals. He would need his tools before he could begin to
figure out what the circuits did, he thought with excitement.

“Can you get it off?” Ivint asked
in frustration.

Lagor turned his attention back to
the immediate problem at hand and looked at every inch of the piece and did not
find any latch or groove in the metal that would indicate a way to open it.

“I’m sorry sir; I don’t see anything
that would open it.”

“I can’t be the only one wondering
if it’s safe to keep her on the ship.” Reven said bluntly.

“What the hell are you talking
about? She’s a crippled girl who is currently in a coma. I doubt she’d be able
to sneak up on anyone!” Amun sputtered in outrage.

“It’s not her physical abilities
I’m worried about! She just stripped the entire conference room of its contents
and put a device on our High councilor that we can’t get off and don’t know
what it is! How do you know that they didn’t brainwash her into doing it?”
Reven was stunned that Amun could even wonder at why he was worried.

“Reven, if she’d wanted me dead, I
have no doubt I would be. However, I would like to know what this is all about
and what if anything this Julou has to do with it.” Ivint said poking at the
metal.

“I don’t know what happened, but I
know I’m not capable of making anything that would hurt someone. I understand
why you’re concerned. Especially since I don’t know if it will happen again. If
someone can take me back to the planet, I would really appreciate it.”
Everyone turned when they heard Jess speaking from the bed. Amun reached her,
just as she started to get out of the bed and sat her back down while he ran a
few scans.

“Jess, have you ever been able to
pull the materials from something besides the earth before?” Lagor asked,
running the possibilities through his head, as impossible as they seemed.

“No, but we really didn’t have much
in the camp; just the vehicle, their weapons and communication devices. But
they never let me near any of that. I’m so sorry that I’ve been so much
trouble.”

“You’re not any trouble child.
We’re all just a little surprised at the extent of your gift. As advanced as we
may seem with all of our technology, we’ve never seen anything like it. And
like anything new, we’re going to be a little alarmed at it until we understand
it better. It’s really no different than what you must be going through right
now with this ship and everything on it.”

As wise as Ivint’s words were, they
did not alleviate Reven’s concerns. And by the look on Scaden’s face, he wasn’t
that comfortable over it either. 

“I think what we need to do right
now is let Amun continue your treatment, and we’ll try to figure this out while
that is happening. Besides, you need to tell me how we’re supposed to go about
meeting this Julou.” No one in the room was more surprised than Reven that
Ivint had made up his mind so quickly regarding meeting with the alien.

“Ivint…” Reven began before Ivint
cut him off.

“We are not so arrogant as to
assume that we will not need the assistance of these victims turned defectors.
We at least owe them the courtesy of listening to what they have to say. And if
this Julou can put us in touch with Banatar, then that is even more reason to
hear him out.”

When it looked like Reven was going
to continue to argue his point, Ivint held up his hand to halt him.

“My mind is made up, my friend. Now
let’s figure out how to do this and keep everyone safe.” Ivint turned away from
Reven to face Jess, putting an end to that discussion.

“Do you know why you made this for
me, Jess? Or how I can take it off?”

Jess slid off the bed and let Amun
help her steady herself before walking slowly towards the large man. She looked
closely at the breastplate, her eyes wide with shock.

Touching it tentatively, she asked,
“Did I really make this?”

“Yes child, don’t you remember any
of it?” Ivint asked, unsure if it was a good sign that she seemed truly shocked
at what she had done.

“I remember feeling kind of dizzy
and disoriented and really tired. Then, there was a light, and dark. I’m sorry.
I’ve never made anything like this before. I’ve only made small pieces of
jewelry, like Cari’s bracelets or necklaces; one or two rings, but nothing like
this. Does it hurt?”

Jess couldn’t help but touch the
shiny metal in wonder. She had no idea she could create something like this. It
felt almost warm to her touch.

“No, it doesn’t hurt at all and is
surprisingly comfortable. Does Julou know anything about your gift?” Ivint pressed,
hoping there was something that she knew that could help them figure it out.

“I really don’t know. We talked
about it a couple of times. And he said he had a few ideas, but we didn’t talk
about it often.”

“Why don’t you get something to eat
and some rest so that you can heal. Tomorrow we’ll talk about getting hold of
Julou.” Ivint left the MedLab without another word. Reven followed fast on his
heels with Scaden.

“I’m going to check on the girl’s
honey; I'll be back in a little while.” Cari gave her a quick hug before
leaving Amun and Gibly alone with Jess.

Chapter
Five

“Have you lost your damn mind?”
Reven said following Ivint into his private office.

“Father, I have to agree with Reven
on this. I don’t think it’s a good idea when we don’t even know what the hell
is on your chest.” Scaden was getting more worried by the second over the
recent events. As much as he trusted his mate, he wasn’t sure whether or not
Jess could be considered friend or foe at this point.

“I don’t see where we have a choice
right now. Get me Randor; I need as much information about Banatar as possible.
When I meet with Julou, I want to be able to test whether or not he’s ever met
him.”

“Of course we have a choice! And
this one isn’t the best one to choose either! If you’re set on doing this
though, let me be the one to meet this Julou.” Reven suggested. It was far too
dangerous for their High Councilor to go meet with him. On an unfamiliar
planet, there was no way that he could ensure his safety, and he wasn’t about to
take such a risky chance with his life.

“No, I must do this. We need him to
get to Banatar and if this is a valid entreaty for an alliance, it would be
better if I were there. Banatar may also have resources on the planet; and
could help us find Balduen. And if he’s been around a lot of these gifted
girls, he may know what this is on my chest. Other survivors could also be with
him. There are many reasons to get to Banatar quickly, my friend.” Ivint tried
to reason with Reven and Scaden. He could understand why they were hesitant to
agree with his plan, but he knew it was the best way to handle it right now.

“Ivint, I understand the importance
of meeting with this Julou, but I don’t agree with you being the one to meet
him. This could be a trap! All of it! That thing on your chest, this meeting,
her partially cut throat, so she’d live, knowing that we were following them,
their prolonged presence on this planet… what more do you need to convince you
this isn’t a sound course of action?” Reven uttered in exasperation. He knew
Ivint wouldn’t listen once his mind was made up, and it was a waste of his
breath to even try. However, it made him feel a little better to rant.

Ivint smiled as he watched his childhood
friend as he paced the room and vented his frustration. They were friends, for
as long as they’d been alive and grew up together. Ivint waited until he knew
his friend had finished before continuing.

“Everything you say could be true.
But I don’t believe it. Don’t ask me how, but I know that this is the right
course of action. The situation has become far different from a simple recovery
of our survivors and their families. I think we are still in the dark regarding
most of this situation and have only scratched the surface of what is truly
going on here.”

“We have been rolling with the
shock of each discovery and flailing for another grasp on what is going on. We
need to get on top of this and gain some form of control. The only way we can
do that is by getting more information. Anything we can learn from Julou, and
Banatar can only help us.”

“Jess said he was from planet
Katavai, Reven; I want you to find out everything you can about the planet and
the people if you can. There should be some information on their people
somewhere in our archives, if not see if you can call in a few favors among our
friends.”

“Scaden, I want you to take all the
women, except for Jess, to the MedShip. I want them in a better position to be
defended by the rest of the fleet. And don’t fall for your mother’s tricks to
stay here, get her on that ship.” Ivint ordered, his tone making it clear that
he would not tolerate an argument.

“Father, why don’t we have Amun
take Jess to the planet in a medical transport, so he can continue her
treatment there? I don’t think that we can take a chance that her
gift
won’t wipe out the systems in another part of the ship. Amun can treat her
remaining injuries on the transport as easily as he can here.” 

Scaden was still pretty shaken by
what Jess had done in the conference room. His fear for his mate and daughters
had not diminished at all, and he was concerned for the crew of the Adaria as
well. If she stripped the engine room or the weapons room, they’d all be dead.

Ivint turned to his son, surprised
at his request; and disappointed as well. He had expected more compassion from
his son since his own mate had been saved by the girl.

“How can you say that? She’s one of
our people. She was robbed of her parents, tortured and sentenced to death for
nothing more than being born of us. And in between those horrors, she still
managed to try to save more Valendran daughters. Potential mates to our people,
like Cari was to you.”

“Yet you would ostracize her and
punish her further for a gift that she never had a chance to understand or
control? For forming an alliance with the only person who tried to protect her
from the brutality she faced daily?”

Ivint paused for a moment to see if
what he was saying was sinking in not only to Scaden, but Reven as well. He was
not going to have that poor girl treated this way. Fortunately, both Scaden and
Reven looked suitably chastised, so he continued more calmly.

“Obviously we are going to be faced
with more of our children who have been horribly traumatized by their
captivity, and we have to find a way to help them; we can’t just abandon them.
No matter how damaged they are from their abuse, they are treasures to us, and
we need to remember that.”

Scaden felt terrible for being
selfish and unreasonable; however, he still wasn’t happy about it; and still
thought that she should be moved somewhere else. Even so, he agreed that she
shouldn’t be held responsible for what her gift had done.

“I understand Father; I’m sorry.
I’ll go see about getting all the females to the other ship.”

Ivint and Reven watched as he
walked out the door, before Reven decided to speak his mind. Ivint knew it was
coming and braced himself for it.

“You’re out of your mind, and I’m
tempted to take a
Fasnotia
to the damn council!” Reven said in
frustration as he paced the room.

Ivint knew that Reven would never
use the law against him, especially not in this instance. A
Fasnotia
was
only used when a ranking council member was emotionally, psychologically or
physically compromised and unable to perform their duties. The law had been
used in the past to allow the election of another council member if the current
one was dying. The threat only served to let Ivint know just how upset Reven
was with his decisions.

“You may not like it, but it’s the
right course of action to take my friend. We have to get our bearings and
figure out what is going on. And we have to find Balduen. I’m not the least bit
convinced that it’s a coincidence that he disappeared right when the Relians
had planned to kill Jess.” Ivint knew it would do nothing to placate Reven
regarding his safety, but he hoped that Reven would give him a different
perspective on what was happening.

“I don’t like any of this Ivint. I
don’t think we have enough information for you to be rushing out to meet
anyone. And Balduen going missing only solidifies that. If you’re going to go
through with it, then we need to pick the meeting place ourselves and get a
team in place.” Reven knew there was no talking Ivint out of the meeting, but
he was going to do everything he could to make sure it was as secure as he
could make it.

“See to it, Reven. Let me know the
details when you have them worked out.”
Knowing he was being dismissed and having work to do, Reven left the room to
set up the meeting place.

Ivint turned back to the window and
stared out at the stars, deep in thought.

*****

Amun helped Jess lay back down on
the bed and got her resettled while he reran the abnormal scans from earlier.
He tried to use the familiar activity to calm himself. The thought of them
taking Jess away had scared him much more than he had ever been before. He knew
if he had to choose between staying on this ship or leaving to take care of her
if they made her go he'd choose Jess. There was no question in his mind that he
would. It thrilled and frightened him at the same time to know that she truly
was his mate.

“Thank you, Amun. I know I seem to
say it all the time to you. You’ve done so much for me…” Jess blushed furiously
and looked away from her handsome hero, unable to look him in the eye. She’d
never had anyone be so wonderful to her before. Even Julou, as sweet as he was,
was nothing like Amun. Something about Amun drew her to him; just his presence
comforted her and made her feel safe.

“You are very welcome Jess. I won’t
let anything happen to you. I promise.” Amun gently cupped her cheek and turned
her head towards him, so she could see the determination in his eyes. He was
never going to let anything hurt her again; even his own people.

Jess stared into his beautiful and
kind eyes and knew he meant what he said. She didn’t know why, but she believed
him. Her eyes traveled his handsome face, and she wondered what it would be
like to kiss his full, soft looking lips. Shocked at her own thoughts, she
jerked out of his hold and looked away in embarrassment.

Amun allowed her to pull away and
continued monitoring her scans before he finally felt certain she was alright.

“I think it’s time for lunch now.
Why don’t you tell me what you’re used to eating or what you like to eat, and
we’ll try to start adding them into your diet as you recover.” Amun suggested.
He wanted to learn more about her, what she liked and what she didn’t.

“There was never really much of anything
at the camp. Most of the time they would kill a deer, rabbits or squirrels for
meat. There were vegetables and herbs I usually could scavenge from the
surrounding area. I don’t even know the names of most of what I would find. I’m
sorry.” Jess was again embarrassed by her ignorance. Here he was trying to do
something nice for her by trying to get her things she liked, and she couldn’t
even tell him what those things were called so he could find them.

“Well, why don’t I order your
lunch, and we’ll see what we can find on the computers about the local edible
vegetation and learn what they’re called together?” Amun suggested; not sure if
it would embarrass her further or encourage her by giving her more control over
her learning.

“I can use the computer to learn?”
Jess asked with excitement. She’d seen the video comms and the computers they
used and was thrilled at the thought of using them to learn.

“Of course you can. After lunch,
I’ll show you how to use it so that you can learn any time you want.” Amun was
having a hard time containing his happiness at her enthusiasm.

“That would be really wonderful
Amun! Thank you so much!” Without thinking Jess had thrown her arms around Amun
and given him a quick hug before she jerked back suddenly. What was she
thinking? Why did she do that? She wondered. She hadn’t hugged anyone since her
mother died. She’d never even hugged Julou. Why would she do that to Amun?

Amun tried to keep the smile from
his face. Even though the hug had lasted only seconds, he had felt it in every
cell of his body and all he wanted was to have her back in his arms again. Not
wanting to scare her, he stepped back and walked to the computer. After
ordering lunch for the two of them, he called her over to him.

“It’s going to be a few minutes
before lunch gets here, so why don’t we start on the computer now?”

Jess walked hesitantly over to him,
unsure why he hadn’t said anything about the hug, but glad that he hadn’t. She
took the seat beside him that he had pulled out for her and sat down.

The next twenty minutes flew by as
she listened with rapt attention to everything Amun tried to teach her about
using their computer system to learn.

When lunch arrived, Amun set up the
table and sat down with her to eat.

Jess wasn’t very hungry at all, but
knew it would make Amun happy if she at least tried to eat something. Sitting
down across from him at the table, her mouth hung open in surprise when he
revealed her lunch. The steam coming off of the piping hot food smelled so good
her mouth watered.

“For lunch I wanted you to have
simpler Earth food again. So this is baked chicken breast, bread with butter,
mashed potatoes and mixed fruit.” Amun told her pointing out each item as he
told her what it was.

Jess tried a little of everything
and was just as surprised as Amun when she finished the potatoes and a slice of
the bread.

When Amun tried to put everything
away when they were done, Jess nervously spoke.

“Can I please keep the rest of the
bread and the fruit for later?”

She flushed in embarrassment as
soon as the words were out of her mouth. She hated to say anything, but the
thought of him throwing all of that good food away really bothered her; it was
more food than she normally had in a week. A part of her knew that they weren’t
going to starve her, but so many years of not having enough to eat made her a
little paranoid anyway.

“I don’t see any reason why you
can’t. In fact, I think it would be a good idea to keep a bowl of fresh fruit
in here and maybe some high-protein pouches. I’ll get those ordered and brought
in. You have to promise to eat as much of it as you can, but nothing within two
hours of a regular meal. Deal?”