Knadyn: A Terraneu Novel (Book Six) (5 page)

Knadyn didn’t wake slowly. He crashed into awareness and bolted upright.
Taking a moment to get his bearings he eased back into the pillow. He was home.

Looking around, his eyes landed on the bed next to his and saw an older
man lying there. It wasn’t odd that there was another person in the medical
unit. It was odd that the male was so much older.

“You’re awake.” His eyes flew over to see his Aunt Gwen standing by the
controls of the medical units. “Your mother should be back any second.”

“How long have I been out?” he looked at his fellow patient and asked,
“Who is that male on the other bed?”

“You have been healing for a couple of days. The malnutrition is just now
abating. Thankfully the other damage healed a lot faster.” She walked over and
shined a light into his eyes, “My other patient is Steve Howard. Ava’s father.”

Knadyn stiffened and asked quickly, “What is wrong with him?”

His aunt bit her lip, “His body has been through a lot Knadyn. I saw it
all the time on Earth before coming here. Bad diet, a lot of stress and untold
environmental issues. We have the medical unit doing some minor medical repairs
to keep him alive, and then we’ll see where we go from there. He is taking a
bit longer to heal than I would have anticipated, but at his advanced age, it’s
not totally unexpected. You just missed his daughter.” She turned to check on
Steve Howard so didn’t see the smile he couldn’t suppress. “She has been as
diligent in her bedside vigil as your mother.”

“Ava was found…and is here on Terraneu?” he couldn’t stop the happiness
that sounded in his voice.

“Yes Knadyn. I heard that you refused to leave Earth until your father
agreed to find her.” She looked at him sternly, “Do you think he would have
left Earth himself without her, after failing to find you six months ago?”

Knadyn bit his lip hard. Of course, his father would have searched high
and low for Ava. One small part of him was afraid that his father would have
said anything to get him off Earth and back through the portal. He was ashamed
of those thoughts now. No male of Terraneu would be so dishonorable, especially
his father.

“You are correct Aunt Gwen. I was not thinking clearly. I know that
everyone must have been mad with worry.”

She moved to his side and grabbed his hand, “When you didn’t come back
with your men everyone was in a panic. The rescue team was sent to find you,
but there was no trace of you. With the policy of no six month stays, they had
to come back.” Her hand tightened on his, “No matter how worried they were
inside, your parents had faith in your ability to survive and get home.” She
moved to adjust his bed, “So if it took getting Ava Howard to the port pad to
get you home, your father would have moved heaven and Earth to do it for you.”

Knadyn felt his chest tighten, “I failed though.” He looked away at the
other wall. “I was captured—”

“What is that crap about you failing?” He hadn’t heard Ava enter the room
and he jumped at her angry words. “You survived what they did to you. You
returned to your family after being held a prisoner. From what I’ve heard, you
accomplished your mission and got your team home safely, at the expense of
yourself. If you ever talk like that again, I’ll tie you down in a dark room,
without water or sunshine!” She stalked over to sit next to her father
obviously agitated.

“Okay then.” His aunt smiled into her hand. “Are you having any symptoms
that I should know about?”

“I feel fine.” Knadyn assured her, “I am just excited to see Brennae and
meet my new nieces and nephews. I missed their birth, but I’m here now. Can you
release me from medical or ask Brennae to bring them here.” He looked over to
Ava. “I could not tell you on Earth, but my sister was pregnant with twins…and
twins.” He laughed his whole body shaking with mirth. When he saw the frown on
Ava’s face, he stopped. “What?” Noticing that she wasn’t looking at him, but
beyond him, he turned to his aunt. Seeing her shocked face he blurted, “Tell me
the babies are okay.” His happiness melted instantly. “Brennae?”

“It’s okay Knadyn. Don’t worry.” His aunt tried to reassure him.

“Not worry…Aunt Gwen, tell me what is wrong.” Knadyn felt the tension in
his body build until he thought he might explode. He desperately tried to sort
the memories in his mind, but the effort made his head pound. The pain grew
until it was blinding him.

His aunt turned toward Ava, “Hijacked memories was something you warned
about wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Ava was giving him a horrified look. “I’m afraid so.”

Knadyn’s blood froze at the implications. “What are hijacked memories?”
His voice cracked with tension and he worried that at this rate he would have a
stroke. The pain was so intense he thought he was going to pass out.

His aunt hit a button on the medical console and he felt himself go
slack. “Knadyn.” She leaned over him, “We are going to sort it all out.”
Squeezing his hand, she stated softly, “I don’t want you to worry so I’ll tell
you…Brennae has never been pregnant.”

“No.” Knadyn struggled to stay awake, “I remember at the celebration
dance. She announced it and Marcael passed out in the grass. We all lau-gh-ed.”
The medicine was starting to take him out and he wasn’t sure it was a bad
thing. “They were so hap-peeee…” He couldn’t fight the blackness. What other
memories did he have that weren’t real?

Ava held her father’s hand and tried to ignore Knadyn and his aunt behind
her. Her mind was racing. What had Jeromy done?

“Ava. Is there anything else you can tell me about this hijacking
memories thing?” Knadyn’s aunt had come over to her fathers bed and was looking
at her expectantly.

“It is like I said before,” She had met Gwen, the Terraneu doctor, when
they had brought her in to see her father a few days ago. “They would have used
drugs to get him talking, and then implanted memories around whatever he
brought up. For instance if he said something about a sister, the interrogator
could have planted that she was dead, killed, murdered … something horrible
that would trigger a response. In a defensive reaction, Knadyn would make up an
even happier memory, real or not, to replace the false one that they are trying
to plant. In the end, real memories are jumbled up in false, until the patient
doesn’t know what is fact and what is fiction anymore.”

“Would there be a way to get to the core memories?” Gwen had pulled up a
chair next to her. Her fingers tapping on the arms of her seat.

“I’m not sure. There might be a code word or command that would release
him.” Ava thought for a moment, “I don’t think it is a good idea to try to
guess that word or phrase.”

“Why?” Gwen stopped tapping her fingers to listen.

“If you try to guess what will release him, you could stumble upon a
booby trap instead. The results of that would be catastrophic.”

“What is she talking about Gwen?” Ava heard the shocked question echo
around the medical room and turned to see Knadyn’s mom, Amber, standing in the
doorway. Of course, she wasn’t alone, but then she hardly ever was. Ava had
learned that not only did Knadyn have a twin brother, sister, mother and
father…he had aunts, uncles and cousins too. If you threw a stone into a crowd
on Terraneu, you would hit someone he was related to. She sighed and rolled her
shoulders. Okay that might be an exaggeration, but he did have a lot of
relatives. For someone who had only her father, it was a lot to take in that he
had such a large family.

“Just a small hiccup in Knadyn’s recovery. I need Kneus—”

“He was right behind us.” Knadyn’s father was standing stoically next to
Amber. “We can wait for him to arrive before we ask for more details.”

“Thank you Kniam. I don’t want to have to go over the details more than
once.” Gwen stood from her seat.

“Maybe I should go to my dome.” Ava had been assigned a living dome. The
community was laid out in rings from the main Square of Four. Technology,
caging, porting and medical domes were center. She was in R3SE2 which put her
in the third ring, the southeast section, second dome. Once she got the hang of
the directions, she had figured it out fairly quickly. In her tour of the
community, she hadn’t seen New Haven or McPhersonville yet. She had been
invited to the park for the celebration dance, but had declined. Since her
father was still in the medical unit, she didn’t think it appropriate. She had
cried when she heard the music, since it was something she vaguely remembered
but hadn’t heard in years.

“Could you please stay?” Gwen turned when the door opened and Kneus was
there. Since this was her mate, she hurried to bring him over to the console.
“Now that you are here I will let you know what I’ve learned. Ava was able to
tell me a few things and I need your input.” Ava drifted off watching the rise
and fall of her father’s chest. She couldn’t believe the medical capabilities
of this community. The list of ailments they were fixing for him was
incredible. Arthritis, scars, scabs, sores, muscle atrophy, plaque and
hardening of his arteries. When she had asked Gwen why her father hadn’t woken
up yet, the doctor had shrugged.
“Maybe
he just needs a good sleep.”
Ava laughed, yeah…who couldn’t use a good
night’s sleep.

“So what can we do?” Amber’s voice broke into Ava’s musings. “How do we
protect Knadyn from this potential booby trap and how do we know if there even
is one?”

“I think we need Cat in on this. She was knowledgeable about Earth
governments before coming here. Maybe some of it is still pertinent.” Kniam got
a vague look on his face and Ava knew that he was talking telepathically with
another male. Probably his brother Knaleg since that is who Catherine or “Cat”
was more than likely with. She had been warned by Brennae that the males could
communicate that way. If they got a distracted look, they were more than likely
talking with each other, and for her not to get offended.

Jerking his head around Kniam stated, “Knaleg is informing Cat of our
issue. She will be right here. They were with the twins at the swimming pond
but will drop them off with Brennae.”

Ava recalled when Brennae had come upon her looking at the swimming pond
the day after the celebration dance. It was acres and acres of clear water,
pools, slides and waterfalls. Brennae had pulled her to the adult swim area and
seeing her family there tried to get Ava up to speed on who everyone was.
Knadyn, Knacayn and Brennae were triplets, born to Amber and Kniam. Their blood
uncles were Knaleg, Kneus and Knollig all Kniam’s brothers. Though all of the
males were close, the males on the council were considered brothers too, so in
addition to her blood uncles, she considered Asteen, Ailech, Baylech and Thian
to be uncles as well.

Brennae went on to explain. Her mother had accidently landed on the port
pad and eventually ended up on Terraneu. A plan was hatched for more women to
be brought here, and all of them came willingly, except for her Aunt Catherine
who had shot her Uncle Kneus. It was all a misunderstanding and was now a great
family joke. Her aunts were Mairi, Gwen, Catherine and Jen. Mated to in order
Knollig, Kneus, Knaleg and Thian.

Brennae had pointed out each swimmer as she said their names. Ava could
see Mairi and Knollig, Gwen and Kneus, even Jen and Thian…it was the great
hulking male Knaleg and the ultra-tiny Catherine that she couldn’t quite
picture. Until as she watched for awhile longer and saw how they interacted
with each other. Then she saw something that left a gaping hole in her heart.
Total contentment and love for each other. The couples were committed to each
other in a way she had never seen.

To top it all off, the people of Terraneu were bound together. Every
person a willing contributor to the happiness of those around him or her.
Nobody was afraid if they did or didn’t do something, they would lose rations.
Nobody was afraid if they did or didn’t say the right thing they would be
banished or punished. These people were free and it ate at her as nothing else
could.

Ava snapped her head up when the door opened and Knaleg and Catherine
walked in. “What did you need me for?” That was one of the things she liked
about Catherine. She was no nonsense and got right to the point.

“It is Knadyn. We think that a man named Jeromy used drugs of an unknown
type and hijacked some of Knadyn’s memories. He has a very physical reaction
when he tries to remember too hard or is faced with a false memory.”

“That kind of thing is possible. I know of waterboarding and extreme
torture methods. This ‘hijacking’ sounds conceivable. Things could have
progressed that far in the years we’ve been gone.”

“If Jeromy had a say in it, there is a booby trap. Renee would have
turned a blind eye to what his son was doing at some point.” Ava jerked her
head around and gasped. Her father had woken up and was looking around the room
excitedly after imparting that message.

“Renee?” Catherine had paled and moved closer to her father. “Can you
tell me about this Renee? Is his last name Rousard?” Ava recognized the name
and wondered at Catherine’s reaction.

“Yes.” She answered for her father. “He was the one who requested my
father investigate an anomaly. What we all know is the port pad in Scotland. Do
you know him?”

Catherine looked around before answering, “He was my boss on Earth. The
one who assigned me to investigate the missing women. He was a sexist jerk to
the women on his team, but there were rumors he was capable of worse. That is
the reason he was assigned to such a benign division as missing persons. He was
reputed to have been a brutal interrogator.”

Ava’s father nodded, “That wouldn’t surprise me if he passed it on to his
son.” Looking to Kniam he held up his hands, “I tried to get Ava in to help
buffer Knadyn. I didn’t know that they would send her off and have days to
torture him. We need to tread carefully here.”

“What would you recommend?” Kneus had been watching from the bedside,
“Our medical fix will only do so much. If they have tampered with Knadyn’s
memories and set traps, how do we counter that?”

Ava looked to her father and then to the group around the room. “We can’t
try to counter what they did without damaging Knadyn. They could have planned
this all along. Even if a rescue party was successful in getting Knadyn home,
either something would trigger a reaction and he would die…sending a clear message…or
you would be desperate to fix him and then you are going to have to negotiate
with Renee or Jeromy, and they are six months and another portal mission away.”

“Why would this Renee or Jeromy want a confrontation with us?” Knaleg
asked flexing his beefy arms in agitation.

“Because they think you are the reason for the damage to Earth, and they
want a chance to face you. As insane as that sounds, they think they have the
upper hand and can negotiate what they want. I am guessing technology or
weaponry would be at the top of the list, along with medicine,
supplies…everything you have.” Her father provided his voice stronger than she
had heard in a long time.

Gwen breathed a heavy sigh then held her hands up, “We have six months to
decide on our next Earth mission. For now we need to figure out a plan to keep
Knadyn safe and healing.”

“There can be no talking with him telepathically.” Kneus blurted, “The
other males must be told to disconnect from Knadyn immediately.”

“Knacayn isn’t going to like that.” Amber muttered her eyes troubled.

“He will understand.” Kniam massaged her shoulders reassuringly, “It is
in Knadyn’s best interests. What else?”

Gwen spoke softly, “He can’t stay in Terraneu. The constant trauma to his
system would be too much. He has to be taken somewhere isolated that he won’t
be bombarded with stimulus. That being us…his family and friends.”

“We can’t just send him off by himself!” Amber looked around at the
others.

Knadyn’s father asked, “Do you prefer swimwear or coat and boots?”

All eyes turned to her.