Writer's Note: Thank you if you're still reading this story! I'm very sorry for those who hoped for a different outcome in the last chapter. Please be patient! As I mentioned in another place, this is a slow, character-building story. I can't afford a shrink, and I'm going through some stuff right now.
I realize that we're supposed to be making a fan fiction here, of Prometheus to be specific... So this story is going to be very abstract/original sci-fi in some aspects. I'm just hoping that my vision of the future is close to what Weyland Corp is all about.
Anyway, please keep reviewing to tell me what you like or DON'T like about anything! I really need criticism, even cheap shots, it would push me to write better and make the story more exciting!
Chapter 10
She weighed little as compared to the numbers in her medical file from the time of her enlistment in the mission. Wrapped in a thermal blanket, and injected with hydration to slow down hypothermia, Kim wasn't moving. Jonas carried her quickly to the quad track, threw the medkit in the trunk and smashed down the accelerator. He drove as fast as the snow allowed him, mindful of the bumps and drops.
The intruders in the freighter could wait, and they didn't need to know who he was bringing back from a three-month absence. Giving them no more thought, he took Kim in his arms, feeling her tremble even through his armor and the large blanket.
Focus. Breathe, you idiot.
His emotional state was deteriorating and he had to watch his every step in order not to trip and fall on his way to the ICU. Ben Stevens was there to help him get into the medical bay, and Oshima admitted Kim. Lying on the bed next door was Vick and his bullet wound. Securely protected with bio-hazard suits, Oshima and her assistants unwrapped Kim from the blanket, then from her clothing - a thick type of black fabric he'd never seen her wear before. Jonas turned away, waiting in the observation room where he could see through a glass pane. He removed his helmet and inhaled with difficulty.
"She's going to be fine, Jonas."
He turned to see Ben, the Chief Engineer had just entered the room and he was smiling. How could he be so confident?
Linda had her tied up to intravenous injections, and her body was maintained to a normal temperature with a better thermal blanket. She applied a gel to her exposed skin, and her hands and feet had turned to a worrying shade of purple.
The weight of a hand made Jonas abruptly turn around.
"You should sit down," said Ben again. "Relax. Your stress is not helping."
"What can I do then?"
"You still have a job," Ben shrugged. "Take care of those kids we just took in. And those animals will need shelter."
Anyone could do that. But if this was Kim's last moments, he had no other place to be, even if he could only watch by the sidelines. The cardiac monitoring bleeped regularly, and his senses kept track of the rhythm so that he'd jump at any hick-up. There were creatures suffering from so much worse, elsewhere. Kim probably hadn't regained consciousness. If anything, dying this way would be peaceful and relatively painless for her.
Once the doctors were finished with intensive care, they placed the room under quarantine and no one was allowed in or out without proper authorization. After all, Kim had been suspected of being taken by an unknown intelligence using unknown technology.
Removing the mask and helmet of her suit, Linda gazed at him in the observation room. Her face had mixed expressions.
"She's stable and gradually recovering from hypothermia. Her body's responding to the treatment."
"Oh, thank goodness," commented Ben.
"But why isn't she waking up?" Jonas didn't know whether to be angry or sad. "It's been an hour already."
The doctor brought her hands together solemnly.
"She's been through a lot." Her eyes went from Ben to Jonas, her mouth was hesitant. "The anatomical scan revealed that she underwent a hysterectomy."
Processing the news, Jonas grabbed the edge of a table and slid down on a chair, grating his sidearm against the furniture. He looked at a dramatically pale Kim through the glass, her shut eyes sunk deep in dark sockets and her stomach was shallow under the blanket. She used to be healthy and fit.
Linda took a box of tissues that she placed on the table next to him so that he could dry his face.
"She's lost a lot of blood. We found bruises around her neck and wrists, and deep lacerations that we still need to determine as evidence of sexual assault. I believe they're the cause for the hemorrhage."
This was more than he could take. He promised himself that if he caught whoever had put her through that nightmare, he would make them feel the extent of his rage.
"It's best that we let her rest until she's able to speak," Ben concluded. "I guess I should check on Corporal Adams. Jonas?"
After a moment, Linda came to put a gentle hand on his back.
"We'll take good care of her."
Once he'd gathered the courage to leave the medical module, he returned to his apartment and dropped his helmet on his desk. He needed to wash up before showing his face in public again. His stubble was almost turning into scruff and his sandy hair was growing beyond the standard buzz cut. He looked nothing like he used to, three months ago. Dark brown eyes were bloodshot and he couldn't straighten the anxious crease between his eyebrows. Jonas quickly shortened his hair with the subsonic trimmer and cleanly shaved his beard. The organic reducer activated when he ran water into the sink, eliminating the contamination risk through the plumbing. He'd wanted to shower and clear his mind, but a splash of water on the face would have to suffice.
He grabbed his gloves, opened his refrigerator and re-hydrated quickly. Walking past his desk to pick up his helmet, his eyes stopped on the holographic screen which presented the drone scanning result. Kim's ID picture was displayed on the map, confirming the localization of her crew member chip. She looked happy in the photograph, with her hair neatly tied in a pony tail, and minimal makeup gave her a feminine yet professional appearance. An insane thought crossed his mind. Wouldn't Kim have been better off not returning to HY-427, and not risking her life? Why did she come back now?
He emerged from his apartment even more confused and tired. Those who walked passed him in the hallways stepped aside to give him space. Jonas fought the urge to go back to the ICU and headed down towards the Security office. The holding cell was packed with people not stated in the mission roster: the intruders, or immigrant now was an appropriate term. All eyes were on him when he consulted with Leo.
"These guys never registered with any type of government or hospital," said the pilot in a hushed voice. "Ben and I are making new files for them but no way to really know when they were born."
"Make sure you get all the details about what they did to avoid getting caught by the Grays."
"I sure will." Typing at full speed on his touch-screen, Leo lifted his eyes up to him for a second. "How's Kim?"
Jonas clenched his jaw and swallowed with difficulty.
"I don't know when she'll be able to tell us what happened."
"So, it's bad."
He didn't want to admit to his fears in front of the men. Makarand, Gina, Vick and the others... they'd lost their own friend Clark that day. The first casualty among the Colonial Marines since the beginning of the mission. He needed to stay focused on the job.
"Did the biology department find a place to keep the animals?"
A heavy silence hung in the air. Makarand rubbed his chin and mustache, shaking his head.
"Stop worrying, Savinski."
He looked back at the captain. He was concerned about the poor creatures and the more anyone would tell him to put their lives after that of human's, the more he needed to care for them.
"They're all taken in and safe," answered Gina. "Thordisson is working on a vaccine for them."
Makarand, seemingly angered, walked out of the station, pulling him by the bicep despite his smaller height. He took him to a secondary office space with a glass door panel to prevent others from hearing the exchange.
"Your job is to overlook the operations, and sit quietly in a nice office while the foot soldiers make your wishes come true." He poked an index at his chest plate. "We're in deep shit right now. Thanks to these scum over there, we can expect the Grays to show up any minute. It's time to put all of your research to good use. And maybe even Kim's got something useful to share with us."
He knew the man had no intention to judge whatever was happening with Kim but Jonas didn't understand why he was tiptoeing around the topic.
"She hasn't regained consciousness yet," he replied. "I'm afraid she may be in too much of a shock to speak when she comes to."
"In three months of separation, you'd expect a lot to talk about."
Jonas took support on a chair's head rest, avoiding the sensitive subject of his relationship - or lack thereof.
"I'm going to investigate the location where I found her. It looked similar to a cave entrance."
Responding with a twitch to one side of his face, Makarand sounded skeptical.
"Just be with your woman, Savinski."
He would use his given last name whenever expressing impatience or sarcasm. It was purely meant for social immersion as Jonas had been bred without any predetermined parents. The name itself was a random pick from his genetic ethnicity pool.
Fighting was pointless given the state of events that day. And if Linda would object to his presence in the medical bay, she could stuff him in a bio-haz suit and forget about him.
There was a gathering of people outside the module. Men and women from the payload, people who had no business there but to satisfy their curiosity. Four hours after the freight ship had crashed and civilians were already breaking the lock down rule. Jonas didn't want to know what they'd be willing to do if they were allowed to take a vehicle and exploit the land elsewhere. What were they going to say to their new neighbors?
It wasn't his problem for now. But they looked at him and didn't move out of his way.
"Keeping them here is wrong!" shouted a man.
"It's cruel to have them locked up like criminals!" protested a woman, in the back of the crowd.
"Make them work for their own food and shelter!" added another male voice, even further back.
"Yes," he said affirmatively which made them shut up. "They will earn their share of goods around here, as we all do. But as our fellow humans we have to show them the right way to live. So, please give them time to settle in."
Jessica Fernstein was there, watching from the sidelines, wrapped in a thick parka. As the crowd dissipated he made his way to the living quarters module and she made the walk with him. She made sure no one was close enough to eavesdrop.
"Pat told me you found Kim."
The captain and the appointed speaker of the civilian community had become close since Jessica broke up with her husband a few weeks ago. Jonas had no qualms with her or Makarand, there were no rules against the military fraternizing with the rest of the colony.
"She's in bad shape," he told her, pessimistic. "I'll let you know when she'll be rested enough to talk."
"Don't mind me, Jonas. I trust you will take all the precautions to keep us safe."
He stopped, raising a suspicious eyebrow at her.
"Safe from what exactly?"
Jessica dug her hands into her pockets and stood straighter to face him.
"An epidemic. We got these refugees with poor hygiene and now, someone who's been gone for months and exposed to alien bacteria. I'm afraid we won't have enough room to avoid creating new diseases. Of course, you wouldn't be affected. Worst case scenario, your DNA could weaponize the common flu."
"I appreciate your candor."
"Don't take it the wrong way," she added with a crooked smile. "I'm happy she's back, and alive. But someone has to ask the unpleasant questions."
"Well, that's why we have procedures and rules, Jessica. Not everyone here is just winging their job and nosing into other people's business."
As he strode off, he heard her footsteps crunching the snow behind him.
"This concerns everyone!" she exhorted. "For someone as old and supposedly as wise as you, I thought the greater good would be your top priority."
He knew and understood why she was upset, so he decided to drop the argument and be on his way. Kim had been as good as dead for a while and her being back should not affect the way things were run now on the base. If she was infected and contagious, people wouldn't welcome her back into the society.
It was self-preservation, nothing more.
Back in his apartment, he stripped down and showered after realizing he'd let the harsh words get to him. Jessica and Makarand could keep talking, he didn't care anymore. His opinion on whether anyone lived or died was unimportant - one of the few things he couldn't decide as a Commissioner.
But age hadn't made him wiser. After a hundred and ten years, his life was still as difficult as it was in his thirties. He was isolated by his easily transmissible cell-regenerating enzymes, and his unchanging appearance while the rest grew old and died. There used to be others like him - his friends, and siblings - but on this mission he was completely alone. And his passed filled with secret operations and stories of horror made it hard to appreciate the peace and quiet.
He let the emotions run over him while he was in the enclosed shower cabin, keeping all of the biological contaminants from spilling over anything. No one could hear him either. The stabilizers were meant to be used in these moments although, without any actual field work to do, they would only worsen his state of mind.
The armor could wait for cleaning and he stowed the pieces on his shelves before getting dressed. Jonas owned basic fatigues and shirts given to him by either the marines or Ben Stevens. Weyland didn't allocate much to his budget since he technically didn't exist on Earth. Once looking like a regular person he returned to the medical bay.
Reading the patient roster, he read Laurel Harding and a few others. Whatever they were in for, he hoped they wouldn't extend their stay. Using his bionic wrist chip to require access to the quarantined zone, he noticed through the plexiglass wall that Kim's bed was empty. He heard the sound of a toilet flushing and a moment later, a familiar face walked barefooted out of the bathroom, bringing a smile on his face. She didn't see him, and unsteadily reached her bed to sit down and wrap the blanket around herself.
He reached for the door and gave another look at her. Glassy eyes were fixed towards the floor in a blank expression. She sat in a fetal position in the way he'd found her, but at least she wasn't in below zero temperatures and she was safe. Jonas went back to the vitals screen and checked the monitor. Everything seemed normal, aside from a low blood count. Reluctantly, he waited and decided not to enter the room. Part of him was scared to find out what had happened, and he wondered if she'd recognize him.
Her status had been set to non-essential. The feelings he had for her held no strategic value and stemmed from little interaction. He had touched her hand once, with gloves on.
Kim sniffled and rubbed her hands on her face, then ran them behind her head, rocking back and forth. What had happened? Had anyone spoken to her yet?
Unable to stand by and do nothing, he got to the door and moved his hand over the lock to open it. Red letters flashed on the LED panel.
PERMISSION DENIED. QUARANTINED ZONE.
Boiling with rage and pain, he called for Oshima on his handheld. She answered right away.
"Yes, Jonas."
"Disable security for Kim's room."
There was a huffing noise as Linda sighed.
"I can't. After what she told me I decided no one should enter until we have a full spectrum report on her health. Even with bio-haz suits." She paused. "She said that an alien had attacked her. She ate unknown food, so there's a high contamination risk involved."
"Linda..." He mustered all of his self-control not to burst in outrage as he watched Kim's mental state getting worse. "You have a report. Thordisson took the samples and found nothing. Not one trace of non-human DNA."
He thought about blowing the lock to pieces, snatching Kim and going away with her, possibly far away from everyone.
"Are you going to transmit your regenerative cells to her?" Oshima softly asked.
His stomach knotted and, jaw clenched, he provided her with an answer.
"If she agrees to it, then I will."
Silence took over, and the transmission ended. Waiting, he lost patience and the lock was still active. He knew where the surveillance camera was and looked right at it, hoping someone was watching and maybe if anyone dared stop him, he could finally ask if there was an ounce of compassion left in this colony.
The security bypass tool from his integrated bionics were invisible to the external eye but he had no trouble cracking the code and getting the door to open. Jonas got in, and she spun her head in surprise. Without a warning sign he went up to her side and they were in each other's arms.
The flimsy hospital gown did little to hide her weight loss, and she trembled, grabbing the back of his shirt and pressing her face against his shoulder. Had she forgotten that she couldn't do that? He brushed her hair down her back, smelling her scent. The bruises around her jawline were still there. He broke the hug to inspect her face, then looked at her marked arms with more bruising. Kim looked down, wiping tears from under her eyes.
"You came for me," she said, weak-toned.
He didn't want to tell her that everyone believed she was dead.
"You're home," he reassuringly replied and held her hands. They were cold. "A lot of things have changed... We have animals now. Dogs, birds, rabbits..."
Perhaps the thought of taking care of the rescued animals would brighten her mood. He smiled, picturing her holding a puppy or what ever pet she liked. She could even have her own home, watching the animal grow and learn from her teachings.
"I- I don't understand," she said. "Where is everyone?"
Jonas looked down, unwilling to think about those people.
"You're under quarantine restrictions. You're not allowed any visits until we're sure it's safe for you to come out."
"But, you're here, aren't you?"
"Well, I couldn't wait that long."
She frowned sadly.
"I'm so sorry... I had the chance to come back sooner, but I thought I could do more over there."
"Look, you don't need to explain yourself. Whatever happened, you managed to survive and now you're back. It's all that matters."
Tears started flowing again, and he winced in pain as she stumbled on her words.
"They made me live with one of them, and I trusted him... He's still here, on this planet."
He stared perplexed into her eyes, trying to grasp the gist of what she meant.
"What did they look like?"
She described tall, pale humanoids much like the ones he'd seen in holographic recordings in the alien ship. He shuddered in horror. Kim was so tiny compared to them.
"Two weeks ago we found some sort of hangar," he told her. "And a ship. It was empty."
She looked at him, baffled, then shook her head.
"There is another, and I think he's still inside."
Her lips twisted downward when she talked about that male character and he couldn't help but sense her disgust and shame. Jonas had met assault victims on Earth and he was looking at a similar display of emotions.
"How did you escape?"
Using the back of her hands to dry her face, she breathed in and her voice went bitter.
"He let me go. I was supposed to be returned here in the first place, but... things got rough. He wanted to help us against the Grays but he didn't like that I had to leave him."
They fell silent and Jonas needed a minute to process the thought of her being forced to live with a seven-feet tall humanoid. Or had she chosen to stay with him? He fought hard not to ask how far it went, or what that thing had done to her. Evidently, she felt guilty about not having returned sooner. While he was happy that she'd come back, knowing that someone else had gotten close to her made his heart sink in despair again.
She lifted her eyes and made eye contact, lips bitten and dry. Jonas touched her cheek and drew her closer. Kim accepted the embrace, hiding her hands next to her belly as if something was hurting.
"How long did it last?" he asked out of curiosity. "This whole journey."
"Eight," she replied. "Maybe ten days."
Fuck. He slowly backed up and pinched the bridge of his nose with discomfort.
"I know it's been three months for you, Linda told me." Shoulders dropping, Kim seemed tired and helpless. "Have you been... waiting for me?"
"Yes," he responded with a short sigh, and took her hand again as it was the only part of her body he allowed himself to touch so far. Forcing a smile, he gathered his courage. "I missed you."
His hopes had been met when she returned that day and he didn't know what more he wanted by confessing his feelings to her. Kim searched his eyes with her eyebrows brought together with concern.
"I won't be coming out of this room for a while, am I? With the quarantine and what I was exposed to, it could be at least until the end of winter before I'm cleared."
She was obviously diverting the conversation away from talks of intimacy or establishing a relationship. There was no time for that any longer, and Jonas needed to get her on the same page.
"No one would object if I were to move you to private quarters instead of occupying a medical room."
Kim swallowed nervously before nodding. Mindful of his words, he got off the bed and glanced at the one-way glass on the opposite wall.
"If you need to rest I can come back. Then we'll go to your new apartment."
"I'm actually okay to walk," she chuckled, getting out from under the covers.
She was eager to leave the cold, sterilized room and to be able to pace around the base module again, even if she clung to his arm for support. Jonas put his hand up at whoever stopped and stared. Some smiled, but most looked shocked and even scared to get any closer. Seeing this, Kim said nothing but kept a joyous facade all the way to the living quarters. He'd given her a pair of pants and slippers to walk in, but soon she would retrieve her own things and dress the way she wanted.
Waving at the lock mechanism, the door opened to the large suite apartment. The desk monitor was still active, showing the latest drone search result with her portrait displayed in large size.
"I didn't have time to clean up," he said and let the door close behind them. He swept the screen blank and set the ambient lighting up to sixty percent. "Your things are in the closet, to the left of the bed."
Kim slowly looked around her, the suspicious smirk on her face starting to make him self-conscious.
"This is your place, isn't it?"
He felt an itch on the back of his head.
"Your room had to be re-purposed due to lack of space. I didn't want your belongings to be recycled or destroyed. I kept everything here and, against the general consensus, I did all I could to hold back changing your status to... deceased."
Mouth dropped, she paced around the rooms, picked up a dinosaur figure from a mantel. She ran her slim fingers around a row of books, and she stopped at the glass display of crystal minerals he'd started collecting. Quartz rocks, for the most part. And one amazonite crystal. He'd found a piece of green rock in what seemed to be a shallow vein. Her voice was but a whisper when she eventually said something.
"No one has ever done that much for me."
His left hand clenched into a fist and he relaxed himself, exhaling intently while looking at her.
"At first I thought I was being selfish, keeping those items in memory of you. Then, I realized I did it to honor the few moments we spent together."
Kim turned around, looked at his clasped hands held in front of him and scrutinized his face. For the first time in this whole life, Jonas was anxious to hear someone's reaction, hoping she would approve of him. Kim's face was hard to read sometimes.
"Aren't you afraid that this isn't just infatuation?" She leaned against a wall, arms crossed against her breasts. "I was gone for so long, after all."
He slowly shook his head. Jonas had never practiced these in-depth conversations about feelings before. Whenever he'd hear himself talk for more than two minutes, he'd grow sick of the sound of his own voice.
"I guess it's good that it took us so long to get here," she agreed with a tilt of her head. She pushed herself out of her corner to stand closer to him, arms still locked together protectively. "If we're going to be roommates, we might as well keep each other company."
His heart jumped in his chest. However, Jonas looked at her without moving, unable to restrain a smile on his lips.
"Company sounds good."
Her face was lined with fatigue, her hair in a messy pony tail but Kim looked like she'd never lived through tragedy just hours before. She reached for his face, caressing it lightly, and Jonas knew with apprehension where this was going. Exhaling slowly, he thought that holding her shoulders would put a halt to the situation.
"Someday, you might look back to this moment and wonder about the choice you made."
She blinked, staring deep into his soul. He didn't want her to take that crucial step while in a vulnerable state of mind; after all, she'd been attacked and tortured by aliens.
"You don't trust me, do you?" she asked, creasing her brow with worry.
No, he didn't, not that instant. Unable to handle his heart from speeding in a non-combat situation, Jonas shook his head. He barely found the words to answer her.
"I don't think I can trust my own judgment."
Was it wrong to fight how she made him feel? From her reaction, he had to assume that, yes. She hugged him. Feeling her body against his made him shudder with anticipation. Kim, peacefully looking up at him, whispered.
"It'll be okay."
He didn't fully register what happened next or how they'd ended up kissing. But the rush of emotions, physical reactions in his veins, nerves and skin all seemed to impact on his awareness. And then, somehow, the touch of her lips made him more lucid all the while he didn't feel completely awake. He tried not to over-compensate for his lack of experience. He sighed painfully the instant their mouths opened and her tongue slightly touched his. She made him want more, to explore the shape of her curved back, feeling the warmth of her body underneath the clothes. He couldn't - he wouldn't, not that day.
They had all the time in the world.
He broke the kiss to catch his breath. Kim beamed at him, panting slightly as she clutched at the pectorals on his chest. Looking closely at her moist lips, he wondered if changes would appear soon enough.
"First, you'll be feverish," he explained. "Then you'll have all kinds of food cravings. When your DNA is modified you'll be at your most contagious... you'll have to be extra cautious with skin contact."
She laughed, touching his face and and letting tears roll from the corners of her eyes, repeated that it was going to be okay and they kissed again. In his life, Jonas had listed two circumstances where he could feel safe and out of others' way: in his apartment and his armor.
Kim was going to be the one and only person able to make him feel safe, and free.
. . .
Revolt and shame filled his dreamless slumber. Lying in the stasis pod, Ikar couldn't get to sleep or become unconscious before replaying the events in his mind, over and over. The delicate chemical balance of his hormones had been disturbed by the organic armor. He'd stopped using it for too long, being accustomed to rudimentary combat protection and clothing.
The woman he'd grown to admire was never coming back to him. In fact, she had never actually been with him if her heart was promised to another.
Pulling himself up to get to work, he couldn't cleanse his mind. He was still furious at himself, and at Kim for not giving him the time to explain. Ikar sat at the computer controls and scanned the nearby colony base. A ship had crashed and more humans had taken shelter among the modules.
This was unacceptable. Their species was not in control of their growing numbers; they would attempt to conquer and dominate everything in their path, including the new technology they'd encounter in the caves. It was coded in their genes. Power, envy, passion, lust... At least, they had that much in common with his own kind. Only, he had learned with progress to control his urges, as did everyone else in order to achieve greatness.
It wouldn't be long until they would investigate this place, and he would be ready for them.
There didn't seem to be one specific person designated to run the colony. The one who was called captain merely dabbled with security issues, like that of the arrival of new human colonists. Then there was Kim's lover; although practical and efficient, his range of action had little impact on the way people lived their lives. The scientists did basic research and didn't advance much, even with the discovery of a ship identical to Ikar's.
And finally, there was the red-haired female matriarch. She held the people's opinions and morale in her hands, as he had seen from the footage of her many gatherings in the outdoors. If anything were to happen to them, because of her pragmatic thinking she would be the one to turn to. Ikar studied her image, memorized each freckle and the way her green eyes squinted when she was irritated. She dared to confront even the great warrior that Jonas once was, and questioned his judgment. She was right: Kim had no place in the colony now.
Ikar smiled, but his satisfaction soon turned to bitter regret. He would have to put himself on the line again, sacrifices would have to be made.
. . .