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Ben squeezed
her hand indicating his understanding. He closed his eyes and heard her voice
but it didn’t register as he drifted off to sleep. The queen walked out to talk
to Grubb and tell him about the treatment they started.

Grubb felt a
little anxious with the queen standing so close. She was very polite and made
sure he understood what she was telling him. He had been around her a couple of
times but never one-on-one and though she tried not to be, she was
intimidating.

"He should
rest for a couple of days minimum but if he wants to get up and walk tomorrow,
that’s ok, just nothing physical. He needs to eat as much as he can and drink
plenty of fluids."

"Yes
Ma'am, I mean your Queenness, I mean your Highness." Grubb stuttered.

"Be at
ease, Mr. Grubb. I hope that soon you feel you are among friends. Call me
Tazleaha."

Grubb nodded
and said, "All the time or just when we are alone?"

The queen
smiled. "Yes, using my name all the time would be very intimate. Our
people would think us lovers." Grubb turned red. The queen put her hand on
his arm. "You are too easy, Mr. Grubb. Your Highness would be fine when it
is a formal gathering."

Grubb said,
"I should ask about visitors. There are a few who will want to come right
away," wanting to change the subject.

"Provide
me with their names and I will contact them and make arrangements. Are you
planning on staying or should I make arrangements for you to return to your ship?"

"I will
stay if that is ok."

"It is. I
am sure he will appreciate having a friendly face around after what he went
through."

"He is
tough. Whoever they are would have had to put him through a lot more to break
him down."

"It is not
the opponents he can see that would have killed him. One of them might have
made the killing stroke once he was too weak to properly defend himself, but he
was already dying so it may have been a mercy to end by an opponent’s hand. The
microscopic world of our universe, the open wounds, filthy conditions,
contaminated water and rotten food were all attacking his body. He had no
antibodies to protect him from what he was exposed to in such large quantities.
The tank we put him in should have killed the majority of them on contact. He
will receive some additional treatments in the future. You should get them
also."

"That
would not have been the way he would want to die, fever and disease."

"I do not believe so
either. I will contact Princess Aok and let her know that he is resting. The
doctor is about to give him something to keep him asleep while he tends to his
wounds and broken bones. I will have one of my people take you to your
room."

Gormazan cut away
the cloak his uncle wore to examine his body. The tan leather shirt and pants
were finely tailored and he wore a number of fine jewels in the form of rings
and a necklace. There was a dagger with ornate carving and a number of stones
on his belt. He placed everything in order on the floor. A thorough search
produced nothing else on the body; he would search his quarters next.

He picked up
everything and walked towards the group who were listening to the colonel
recount her and that human's experience aboard the ark. He knew the human's
name but he didn’t like him much and saw no need to use it.

The colonel
finished and before another question could be asked of her, he interrupted.
"Colonel, may I speak with you for a moment please?"

Tawniz excused
herself and walked over to him. "Gormazan, isn’t it?"

"Yes,
colonel, it is. I was hoping you would speak to some of the crew and prisoners
and see if they would consider staying on to help get the queen’s property
returned to Cjittan. I believe it will take a number of weeks to clean and
stock the ship before departure. We will compensate everyone who stays as well
as provide new clothing, proper food, and clean water."

"You will
understand if you do not get many to take your offer. I believe you may get a
small group, though if you ask Benjamin to ask them there may be more. I will
do it then give them some time to think about it."

When the crew
realized the master was leaving the ship and it was surrounded, they
surrendered very quickly. The current problem was keeping the former prisoners
from killing the former crew.

Gormazan asked,
"Did they capture the ship that departed just before we arrived?"

"No, it
was able to get past the Trillond starships. In their defense, it was able to
cloak itself. This ship is so large, the distortion was easy to locate if you
knew what to look for but that small vessel was undetectable."

"She will
surface somewhere to find there is a bounty just put on her head large enough
so that every bounty hunter will try to collect it. There is an additional
bounty for the ship so even if she eludes them, they can collect if the ship is
returned to us. It is much more valuable."

Tawniz said,
"I am going to speak with the prisoners who I feel can talk to the others
and possibly persuade them. I was not here long enough to be much of an
influence. Then I am leaving this ship and hopefully never setting foot on it
again."

"Thank
you, colonel."

Tawniz found
everyone she wanted to speak with and didn’t end up leaving the ship for a
couple more hours. They were skeptical and suspicious and she didn’t blame
them. She had no intention of exerting any pressure on any of them to stay. She
only passed on the information of paid employment and the rest of the benefits.
She did encourage them to help clean the ship for pay so even if they chose to
move on they would have credits in their pocket.

She arrived on
the flagship amid a huge gathering in her honor. She had survived and saved the
human and many others while she and her team battled the crew and mechanical
monsters. She was too tired to correct them and would tell the truthful
versions later.

It was good to
eat clean, proper food meant for an Allond. She would set aside some time for
meditation and cleansing the inside of her body but first she needed to build
strength and stamina. With her meal eaten, she excused herself from the crowd
so she could bathe and put on fresh clothing. She felt so much better just
being clean. She lay down to rest knowing that later, she would have to give a
private report to her brothers. There were a number of questions and it would
take some time for the answers to be found. She wondered how Ben was doing on
the Cjittan ship before she fell asleep.

                                   
****

The Cjittan
doctor and his assistant were working on Ben's wounds and broken collar bone.
The doctor noticed his assistant was continually staring and frowning at their
patient. The doctor didn’t pay much attention to it. His young male assistant
had not had a lot of experience with other life forms. He had the assistant
position mainly due to political status and was not exceptional in the field of
medicine. His older brother was a suitor, and of all the suitors, stood the
best chance of securing the position as the queen's husband. Tradition dictated
that the husband of the queen be granted an inhabited solar system to manage.
In the event of the husband's death, which happened often throughout their
history, it reverted back to the crown.

The nanites Ben
had been injected with in the tank began working on closing his wound from the
inside out. The leg wound was caused by claws that ripped the flesh. It was
jagged and there was skin missing. The doctor applied a form of synth-skin that
he made from a tissue sample taken from Ben. Because of that, it would match
perfectly in color and texture.

His lower
abdomen would heal up even better. The wound was much cleaner due to the nature
of it. The doctor placed the scanner over his shoulder and collar bone. There
was a bit of trial and error as he moved Ben’s arm and shoulder. Using a thin
elastic type wrap that would stick to itself, he sat Ben up and pulled and
wrapped until the bone was back together. This would make less work for the
nanites trying to mend it.

The queen
returned to check on Ben’s progress and was pleased with the results. She
walked around the table sliding her hands over his body, mostly admiring the
doctor’s work and some of nature’s work also. The assistant seethed on the
inside. He believed that she should not be touching and admiring the alien when
his brother was her chief suitor.

They left Ben
to rest; sleep and being immobile would help him heal. The doctor would wake
him after twelve hours if he didn’t wake on his own before then. He would be
hungry and thirsty but he wouldn’t be allowed to leave his bed. Not for a few
days.

The queen had a
collection of requests from quite a number of individuals to visit Ben. She
answered the ones she knew with a personal note while the others were given a
more cursory reply just stating they would be notified when he is available.

Grubb was
allowed to talk to E'Aria and told her that Ben was being well taken care of.
He felt with a few weeks rest and some good food he would be back to his old
self giving everyone a hard time. E'Aria had sent a message to Allond to inform
Alona, Emily, and Natalia that Ben had been found alive. She was somewhat vague
about his injuries not wanting Natalia to worry. Grubb agreed with E'Aria that
the girl had just lost one adopted parent and didn’t need to be worried sick
for the other one. He returned to his quarters and settled in to sleep.
Tomorrow would be a better day.

Two Trillond
supply ships arrived the next day; one to resupply the three Trillond Navy
ships and the other to sell supplies to whoever needed any.

Gormazan had
been able to negotiate with Aisling for personnel that were required to repair
the damage to the bridge of the ark. They stripped some flooring from an area
where the prisoners had been kept and placed empty cages over the hole they
left behind. After a day of testing using equipment from the ark and their own,
they had worked out a process to weld the new panels in place.

Tawniz had
chosen wisely in her selection of spokesmen and logic about helping with the
cleaning and earning credits for travel expenses. Gormazan had three teams
cleaning areas he had access to while he continued to work on breaking the
codes to access the lab and ship’s controls. The Trillond donated empty and
 worthy cargo containers to help with the disposal. When they were full,
the containers would be pulled then released on a course for the system's star.
The inertia would move them along then the gravity of the star would take hold
pulling them in to be incinerated.

The doctor who had
treated Ben along with three Allond doctors worked on treating the wounded and
sick. He would have to return to his ship soon to wake Ben if he was not
already awake and arrange for foods to be prepared that would aid in his
healing. Grubb had suggested he talk to Captain O'Shaughnessy and Captain Aok
about supplies and having the doctor from the Alliance to take a look at Ben.

Grubb waited
for the shuttle carrying Dr. Mathews and Nurse Tanaka. The queen gave
permission for the two of them to meet with her ship's doctor and look Ben
over. She knew word would spread and it would put Ben’s friends more at ease
hearing it from one of their own. The queen's doctor was waking him at that
moment so he could eat and receive visitors.

Ben was
listening to the doctor explain how he was progressing and watched as the
doctor pointed out his new skin and the fading of the bruises. The doctor
stopped and made a motion towards the door. He was surprised and happy to see
Grubb, Dr. Mathews and Nurse Tanaka walking in. Grubb made introductions and
the doctor took his data pad and put Ben's records up on a screen. He moved the
scanner in place and started it while he explained to the guests Ben’s
condition when he arrived.

Grubb wasn’t
really listening; he knew what Ben looked like when he arrived. Nurse Tanaka
eased away from the two doctors and walked to Ben's side. He motioned for her
to come around to the other side of the bed to his good arm. He grabbed her
elbow and pulled her down gently, kissing her on the check and holding her in
place. "It’s good to see you Win," he said then kissed her cheek once
more letting go of her arm.

"It’s good
to see you too, but I only get to see you when you're beat all to hell."

"Anytime
you want to get kidnapped, drugged, stunned multiple times, fed rotten food,
have shit thrown at you, attacked by starving tortured beasts, then attacked by
starving tortured aliens, shot by the clone of your dead lover and. . . become
a breeding ground for nasty germs and microbes your body has never heard of and
can't fight. . . you just come along with me."

"Holy shit
Ben, all of that? Really?"

"Yes! And
I didn’t even get kissed."

"It looks
like your doctor did a great job on you," Win said looking at his new skin
covering the wounds.

"Yes, he
isn’t like those Alliance hacks."

Dr. Mathews
said, "I heard that, Jamison."

"Just
kidding, Doc," Ben answered. "Win, do you know when the Warhammer is
going to leave? I am hoping to get to see everyone."

"I don’t
think the captain has made a decision yet. I think she would like to see you
also."

"I hope to
be up and around in another day, two at the most." Ben looked over at the
doctors. "What do you think Doc? When can I get out of bed?"

Both doctors
looked at him. His Cjittan doctor answered. "You could tomorrow but I
would rather you stay in bed for five to seven days. The longer you remain
right where you are, the better you will heal. The nanites have repaired the
worst of it and will continue along with your body's natural healing
process."

"Could I
at least petition for my own quarters with something more comfortable to sleep
on? Actually, this isn’t bad. I just feel like I am on display."

"Hmmm yes,
I will talk Queen Tazleaha, I am sure arrangements can be made." Almost as
if she knew her name was being mentioned, she walked in.

The queen came
into the room noticing first the small female smiling with a hint of red mixed
in tan skin on her face. Grubb stood on the other side of the table listening
to them talk of the past. She could see the female was interested in Ben but
his interest in her was different. She could tell it was friendship. There were
a number of other things the doctor had injected Ben with on the order of his
queen and she would tell him about those at a later date.

Grubb found his
tongue and spoke. "Queen Tazleaha, let me introduce you to Doctor Mathews
and Nurse Tanaka of the Colonial Alliance Starship Warhammer, Queen Tazleaha of
the Cjittan Empire."

"Thank you
Grubb, that was very good. Much more polite and eloquent than some of the things
your friend on the table has said to me. I have had time to look up the use and
meaning of some of the words I have heard him use, some directed at me."
The guests could only imagine when the queen did not go on and repeat or
explain.

Nurse Tanaka
gave Ben a hard look. "You didn’t, tell me you didn't swear at the Queen
of the Empire we are hoping to make peace with."

"I don’t
remember. I had a little too much to drink before I was taken. You can't hold
that against me."

Tazleaha said,
"No not then, I had forgotten about the night of the dinner. I think he
tried to kiss me, that is where you press your mouths together yes? This was
after we rescued him yesterday."

Win just shook
her head in amazement giving Ben the eye. "You are a menace. You are lucky
she hasn’t spaced you. On behalf of my people, Queen Tazleaha, please accept
our apology. I think his heart is usually in the right place, he is just a very
rough around the edges. Our warriors are taught honor, to fight and survive,
take the fight to the enemy, fight to win, diplomacy is not exactly in their
list of skill sets."

Ben looked from
Win to the queen. "I am a hand's on kind of operator and very diplomatic.
My method of solving an issue uses a lot less words, takes less time and is
very effective. Who wants to sit around and listen to a bunch of stuffed shirts
with sticks up their asses sit around and talk just to listen to the sound of
their own voices?"

"He
insulted our captain within the first thirty seconds of meeting her. They
eventually made up and are friends so I hope you give him a day or two to get
his act together and apologize."