Chapter 20: Repairs…
Syn stood at the foot of the ramp, and even though his mask covered his face, it didn't conceal his nervous stance, with Cassandra still unconscious in his arms, waiting for the guards to approach, he didn't want to waste any more time. But he knew they had to follow strict protocol, and he couldn't really blame them for following orders, after all, he was somewhat familiar with the workings of Yautja security operations. The Yautja operative looked briefly from one guard to the next, seeing if he could put any names to faces that he remembered, none were familiar to him except Daan'sha. There was one other Yautja Syn'kra-vaal thought he knew, the Rylt'ah or Guard Chief's face was familiar, but he couldn't remember the name, whoever it was he seemed calm and in control. Just by looking at the others he could pick a youngling, who he gave no regard but there were two others and the Guard Chief that might give him trouble if things got violent.
Syn'kra-vaal could feel their eyes on him, and in the position he was in, it didn't make him feel very welcome, he kept looking from one to the other, hoping for the odd chance that he might remember a name, or something to help remove the tension from the situation. But for all his hope, he could only keep looking at Daan'sha, hoping that the skinny male would remember who he was. After careful thought the stealth operative decided it was best if he got in the first words;
"Seem like an intrusion this might, but I have to stress the fact that, I am not your enemy…"
"But that Ooman you are carrying very well could be… What is your purpose here?" retorted Avaal'ekan.
"I have come seeking Daan'sha's assistance, I apologize, but time is crucial…"
Daan'sha pushed his way through the arc of guards that had formed around the new arrivals, brushing off Siy'kaa's attempt to hold him back. The Yautja scientist wore a confused expression on his face as he stepped up to the bottom of the ramp; he knew the most probable outcomes of this situation, so he was very careful about what he said;
"…Thei-de Ka'antyra…?"
Syn sighed relief and half smiled under his mask;
"No one has called my by that name in a very long time. I was hoping you would remember who I was…"
"I am offended that you would think that I would forget my friend," smiled Daan'sha, he turned to face the guards. "Avaal'ekan, you can lower your weapons…"
"Avaal'ekan…" parroted Syn, "I remember now, congratulations on your promotion to Rylt'ah." He said, trying to remain as polite as possible.
"You bare the mark of the Dark Blade." Replied Avaal'ekan, keeping his pistol pointed squarely at the intruder. "From the O'ka'an sector…?" he questioned in an instigative tone.
Syn knew exactly what the Guard Chief was trying to do, and he would have loved for nothing more than to teach him everything about Dark Blade Clan, up close and personal, starting with the combat aspect of their training. But there was more at stake that upholding the honor of his fallen clan brethren, he had no idea how much time Cassandra had left, and it was imperative that she be provided the best medical care. Syn was careful to make sure his stance didn't change at all, this would give away exactly what Avaal'ekan was looking for, instead the Yautja operative shook his head and growled;
"That is a part of my life I regret, and a part that I left behind long ago…"
"Maybe so… But that still doesn't explain how you came to learn the location of this 'secure' facility and how to make contact."
"Enough Avaal'ekan!" snarled Daan'sha, stepping into the firing line between the Guard Chief and Syn. "He is my friend, and so he has been for many turns, longer than I have known you! It was me who told him where to find us! And it was me who told him how to commune with the spire!"
Even Syn was taken aback; everyone stared in surprise at Daan'sha who stepped closer to Avaal'ekan, his fists clenched as he snarled through gritted tusks;
"Holster your weapon!"
"You are making a mistake Daan'sha…"
"Try me…" he growled.
Somewhere on the far side of the docking bay one of the quarantine chambers could be heard cycling, then a small yelp;
"Daan'sha…!!"
A female Yautja donning research armor emerged from the quarantine chamber and broke into a run toward the Elder Class shuttle, all of the guards turned to see who it was, however Daan'sha and Avaal'ekan didn't even think about moving, each still trying to stare down the other. Syn watched both of them carefully; Daan'sha might get one or two blows landed, but he was no match for the trained Guard Chief, finally Syn looked quickly to his right as he heard the female's footsteps closing the distance between them. She pushed past the guards and flashed a concerned look in Syn'kra-vaal's direction before stepping quickly to Daan'sha's side; she placed a hand on his arm and leaned close to him;
"Do not do this… You know the only way this will end… Please, for me, back down… Daan'sha…?"
The skinny male took a deep breath, albeit, his fists were still clenched hard, and his eyes showed no remorse as he continued to stare over Saa'retah's shoulder at the Guard Chief, Avaal'ekan;
"I am asking you now, as a friend. Holster you weapon."
"As you wish…" nodded Avaal'ekan, finally breaking eye contact.
The female and Syn both let out a sigh of relief in unison, Avaal'ekan flashed the intruder one last look before nodding to the other guards, they followed his lead, holstered their weapons and turned to follow their Chief toward the quarantine chamber. Syn'kra-vaal noticed the youngling looking back as the guards walked away, a look of question and resentment plastered on his face.
Daan'sha sighed and turned to his old friend, wearing his usual grin to mask his unease;
"I honestly thought I was to be massacred…!"
"As did I…" replied Syn; there was no humor in his tone. He looked down at his human friend again, then back at Daan'sha. "Daan, I came here because there was nowhere else to go… You are my only hope…"
"I was you wasn't it… The assault on O'ka'an…?" questioned the scientist
"Hmmm…." Syn looked around before giving a small, barely noticeable nod
"I knew it…" mumbled Daan quietly. "I heard what happened, the massacre and what not…. Separatists they called the Dark Blades, it made me sick… After everything they had done for leading councils all over the galaxy…"
"Maybe some other time we can talk about this, perhaps in a less public place…" growled Syn, quietly.
Daan'sha nodded understandingly and waved the medical team over from their position near the security station on the rearward wall of the massive docking bay, then he turned back to Syn;
"Who is your Ooman friend?"
"I owe her my life and she needs your help, by the gods I don't know what the Oomen have done to her; I don't know how much of the Ooman is actually left in her…"
As the medical team approached, Syn stepped toward them, there were three Yautja, all wearing medical uniforms, and one of them quickly unfurled a stretcher from the large med kit he was carrying. Syn made eye contact with all of them as he placed Cassandra gingerly on the stretcher;
"I have given sedative; I do not know how long it will last… She is… She is a changeling. You must do what you can."
"We will…" replied one of the medical personal with an understanding nod
"Take her to one of the private medical chambers." Added Daan'sha
"There is another…" said Syn, shaking his head briefly, his voice darkening "A Yautja female named Ju'lyn-zal in stasis in the medical chamber aboard my shuttle… She has sustained a head injury…" The Yautja operative flared his mandibles and snarled, voicing his rage "Another innocent soul to this slaughter…"
The medic who had spoken earlier nodded at one of the others;
"Go and check on her, I will send someone with a med-hauler when we reach the lower levels."
The Yautja medic nodded and proceeded into the large Elder Class shuttle, Syn just continued to look down at Cass, he gently ran his large fingers down her face, feeling the touch of her skin, her features; he growled softly, a sharp pain flared in him. Daan'sha stepped up to his side and placed a caring hand on his friends shoulder;
"Do not worry, they are the best, otherwise they would not be here. More than likely they know more about the Ooman anatomy than their own kind do."
"I hope you are right…" growled Syn.
Syn sighed again, trying to get rid of the pain that made his hearts ache so much, reaching up to his neck, he uncoupled the light weight specialist helmet and removed it from his head, shaking out his dreaded hair as he did so. Now he could look on his friend with his own eyes, Syn managed a weak smile and pulled Daan'sha into a hug, after a moment Daan'sha pulled away and held Syn at arm's length;
"You really look like hell, Syn…"
"It has been a long time since I rested well… I have been… Busy, you might say…"
"I am sure you have, you look like you need rest, come, you will rest in my quarters."
Syn smiled, he actually felt like he could relax, at least for the moment, he looked over Daan'sha's shoulder at the female that had come to his rescue, she smiled shyly at Syn before looking at her feet;
"Are you going to introduce me to your friend…?" questioned Syn
"… Wise idea… I do not want to appear a poor host… Saa'retah…?"
"Yes?"
"This is the mighty Thei-de Ka'antyra…"
She smiled that shy smile again and bowed her head to the newcomer;
"It's a pleasure to meet you… Thei-de Ka'antyra…?" she cocked her head to one side
"You do not have to call me that, my name is Syn'kra-vaal of O'ka'an, the Tau'ke Hills to be more accurate…" He replied, noticing her confused look "And I am honored to meet the female that could finally pull Daan'sha away from his work…"
"It still remains to this day, one of the biggest challenges I face." She laughed
"I'm sure it does…" yawned Syn "Now, Daan'sha, you had better show me where I am to rest, because soon they will have to transport ME away on a med-hauler…"
A deep rumbling snore resonated through Daan'sha's private quarters; it was something its two usual occupants weren't used to, a quiet curse came from the main sleeping chambers, it was a female voice;
"… He has been snoring like an Il'kun'ta bull… all fucking night, and half of yesterday!"
"…Mmmmmm…" groaned Daan'sha, still half asleep "Leave him alone, he is obviously very tired…"
"His chamber door is closed, and our chamber door is closed… And I can still hear him as if he was in here with us!" hissed Saa'retah "You should go and roll him onto his front so he cannot snore…"
"…That would not be wise… I have seen someone disturb his sleep once before… It did not end well…" yawned Daan'sha.
Saa'retah growled obscenities as she rolled from their sleeping pad, stretched and walked toward the opposite corner of the large, well adorned room. Daan'sha watched her every move as she stepped into an octagonal shaped recessed section of the floor, he couldn't help but grin every time he saw her, it reminded him just how lucky he was. Her slender body moved with a gentle grace, she stood with her back turned to her male as she tapped a few sensor pads on a small control panel that was located in the corner section where the two edges of the wall met. Almost immediately water began to rain from the ceiling, it cascaded from her body, running from her dreaded locks and down her back in small rivulets, following every contour of her perfect form. Daan'sha growled eagerly, the morning was really the only time he and Saa'retah had to themselves, and the morning shower was an event that both of them cherished.
The wiry male mimicked Saa'retah's own actions by rolling out of bed and stretching, while flaring his mandibles in a wide mouthed yawn, the female looked back over her shoulder at Daan'sha with a sly grin. He looked into her eyes and saw her familiar playful mirth that more often than not preceded the physical pleasures of their relationship. Daan'sha growled, louder this time, and leapt toward the showering partition of their personal chamber, rapidly closing the gap between them. Saa'retah purred loudly as Daan'sha approached her from behind and gently rubbed his hands around her waist and up toward her breasts, she leaned back, pressing their bodies together, Saa'retah squirmed under his touch and chuckled;
"What took you so long…?"
Strange moaning sounds quietly resonated through Daan'sha's quarters punctuated by an occasional growl or hiss. The muscular but well toned body that was lying, spread eagled on his back on the sleeping pad in the guest quarters awoke with a start, sitting up in the large bed Syn'kra-vaal rubbed his eyes and flared his mandibles as he yawned;
"… What in the name of…?"
It took Syn a few moments to realize what the noises were and where they were coming from, he smiled conservatively and swung his legs around so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He yawned again and hung his head, running his large fingers through his dreaded hair, he felt a little better now that he was well rested, but his thoughts still lingered on Cassandra, he couldn't stop thinking about her. So much pain and suffering she had been put through, and for what?
Even though Syn was nearing one hundred and forty years of age, he was still considered to be young. This may have been the general consensus among many Yautja, but never the less, he had much more experience than most, being covert was more than being a common hunter, he had seen more, he had endured more, he knew more. But now, he truly understood the lengths that the humans would go to in order to secure themselves, he even felt remorse for the creature they had named 'Fury'. Even though it was the enemy, Cassandra had told him that once upon a time, Fury was a great warrior, true and just. Fighting for his people, like so many other beings.
Syn'kra-vaal huffed as he got to his feet and stepped over to a control panel that was adjacent to the recessed section of floor where the wash shower was located. He jabbed at a sensor pad idly and a large floor to ceiling section of the wall started to slide back into itself, revealing a large opening to the outside. Cool, early morning air flooded through the large opening, Syn stepped up to the edge and peered out, the view was actually quite immense. Low morning light strangely illuminated the rocky, volcanic landscape and suddenly; Syn'kra-vaal remembered why he liked this place so much. Before he was exiled, the Yautja operative had spent some time here with Daan'sha and his research teams, helping to develop several new weapons technologies. During his stay he also spent a lot of time scouting the planet and supplying detailed mapping data for new areas of the research facility, this was when he took a liking to the rugged landscape; it had a feral, dangerous beauty about it.
The facility itself was built into the side of a large ridge so the southern wing could be incorporated into several volcanic vents in the building process; the massive energy provided by the volcanic activity was more than enough to power the facilities generators. Much was spoken by leaders of the Yautja worlds about how unstable this sort of landscape would be. But once again, Daan'sha had proved them all wrong by developing a technique that was able to accurately measure the chemical properties of the giant fusion reaction taking place in the moons core. Once he was certain of his theory, he planted several permanent seismic and volcanic monitoring drones in strategic positions on the moon's surface before the facility was built. Then, when everything was set in place, the idealistic scientist introduced massive amounts of several, mega- conductive, high mass elements into the moons core. After he was able to ascertain that the elements had been completely absorbed, he and a team of top Yautja engineers and draftsman began the construction of the massive power generators deep underground. The generators and the surrounding superstructure were completed and drawing power before the rest of the facility had even been constructed. The massive amounts of power being created were then being introduced into a massive frequency modulation system which fed the energy back into several of the moons main magma veins. This energy, in conjunction with the absorbed super conductive elements created a massive electrical reaction in the moons core, limiting its volcanic activity and greatly increasing its structural integrity. After a long examination period, the moon was deemed stable by even the most skeptical of Yautja ruling body and their science advisors.
The section of the facility where the living quarters and other personnel related areas were located was way out in outer the western wing, and only a handful of the higher ranking Yautja on site had quarters that were above the surface, the vast majority were underground, and only half the size. Needless to say, Daan'sha was well catered for, and the reason most of the Yautja enjoyed his presence, was that he didn't let the superiority get the best of him.
After his little reverie, Syn'kra-vaal remained still, leaning against the bi-polar energy shield that had generated in place of the section of wall that retracted, creating the opening. The shields were a security measure more than anything else, much like the huge shield in the docking bays; they allowed the air to pass through, filtering it in the process. But unlike the shields of the docks, the safety shields denied any physical penetration what so ever.
It hadn't been that long since the Yautja operative had been awoken by Daan'sha's mating habits, Syn thought about this and grinned as he stepped into the cleaning partition of the sleeping chamber. Syn'kra-vaal let out a quiet purr as high pressure water sprayed down onto him, he stood still for a few moments before rubbing himself down with his hands, shutting off the water and stepping out of the octagonal recess in the floor. He rubbed himself down again, pushing the excess water off his body; his natural body heat would take care of the rest. Syn surveyed the room as he pulled on his loin cloth and tech-net, followed by the specialized lightweight armor he was so fond of.
Even though he was still deeply concerned about the well being of Cassandra, Syn'kra-vaal actually felt somewhat refreshed. Knowing that she was in capable hands help put his mind at ease but as he bent down to retrieve his utility belt and combat helmet, he heard a quiet growl from behind him. The Yautja operative spun around on his heel, and there, right in front of him stood the tall, darkened figure, who would be the Yautja God, those glowing eyes shining from under his hooded figure. Syn snarled;
"You…!"
"Be calm my child…"
"You could have saved Ju'lyn-zal… You … All the innocent lives at the O'ka'an outpost…!"
"I cannot interfere with your plane of existence, it is forbidden."
"But are you not all knowing, all powerful…?"
"There is always one more powerful, Syn'kra-vaal."
"Are you not interfering as we speak?!"
"This, I can get away with… Now listen, the human needs you, she is close now."
"Close to what?!"
"Control your tongue and go to her…" growled the response.
And just as fast as he has appeared, the mysterious Yautja God was gone again, Syn cursed under his breath;
"If you WERE in physical form on this plane… I would kick your arse…"
Seriously beginning to doubt his sanity, Syn'kra-vaal bent and picked up his utility belt and coupled hit around his waist, then clipped his lightweight helmet to the belt and walked from the sleeping chamber. As he entered the main chamber, he was met with another cool breeze, he looked to his right and to his surprise there was no wall, just a whole lot of outside, it obviously utilized the same sort of shield as the opening in the sleeping chambers. It was quite a sight, the main chamber was adorned with strange artifacts and complicated looking things Daan'sha had collected over the years, like a hunter, he too had trophies. In the center of the main chamber sat a large circular table surrounded by eight comfortable looking chairs. On the table sat a large hand carved bowl, Syn recognized the bowl from many years before, he recognized it because he was the one who had made it. The bowl had been crafted from the skull of a massive, eight legged herbivorous beast that had attacked Daan'sha and a contingent of scientists on a small jungle planet they were studying.
Syn managed a weak smile as his old memories unfurled as he looked at the selection of fresh fruits that sat in the bowl, as he approached he could smell their sweet scent. It had been so long since he had eaten such things that he had almost forgotten what fruit tasted like; he quickly selected a large, purple egg shaped fruit from the bowl, commonly known to the Yautja as, Bu'ka'yn. As he raised the fruit to his mouth to scent it, the door to Daan'sha's sleeping chamber slid open and Saa'retah stepped out into the main chamber. Syn nodded in her direction;
"Dawn greetings, Saa'retah."
"And to you Syn'kra-vaal." She replied, blushing slightly
"If you do not mind, I partook of some Bu'ka'yn…"
"That is fine." She smiled "I can assume you slept well then…?"
"What makes you say that…? How long was I asleep?"
"Two days." She smiled, reaching past him to get a piece of Na'xa fruit
"Two days…!? Please, where is Cassandra, my Ooman friend?"
"It is fine Syn…" she looked down at him, her eyes were honest "The medical teams have been working in shifts since you got here."
"I need to see her. Please take me there." He stated simply.
She could see the look in his eyes as he stared up at her, she could see his power, and right at that moment, she understood everything she had ever heard Daan'sha say about the Dark Blade Operative, Syn'kra-vaal. She knew now why Yautja feared him, it wasn't his strength or speed or any other physical attribute, it was his heart, his courage, things that no Yautja could not learn in any Kehrite. Saa'retah swallowed nervously;
"I will take you, follow me… It is not far."
Syn'kra-vaal and Saa'retah walked at a brisk pace, side by side, not many other Yautja were present as it was still rather early, though they saw a few off duty guards entering the large Kehrite training hall. The personnel wing of the Yautja facility was quite basic in its layout, the furthermost western section contained the living quarters, and the next quadrant contained the Refectory chamber and Kehrite. The further in toward the center of the complex the greater the number of subterranean levels, the northern and eastern lower levels housed a large percentage of the facilities laboratories. The lower eastern laboratories were used predominantly for biological and medical research, where as the northern where used for general technical research, and the infamous Black Hole Laboratory. As the southern side of the complex was built into the side of a rock-strewn ridge, it was entirely subterranean. The lowermost levels were built around the large volcanic conduits that traversed the center of the ridge line. The arduous task of constructing such a substructure was necessary to incorporate the three large generators into the magma conduits, without disturbing too much of the structural integrity. The power generation, current modulation and stabilization technology for harnessing and stabilizing volcanically active planets was a first in Yautja technical evolution. Even though it was quite a large system in terms of power generation, it was beneficial because it could be sustainable for as long as the stabilization field was active, and there were no dangerous byproducts.
The upper southern levels were possibly the most undisclosed of the Yautja complex, instead of many smaller laboratories, there were only six larger sized chambers, these were used primarily for weapons development. The entire upper southern wing was privatized to everyone but a handful of high ranking scientists, Avaal'ekan, three other guards and Daan'sha. Unlike all the other sections, every entrance into the southern sector was locked out from the central hubs of every level where the main north to south and east to west corridors intersected.
Syn'kra-vaal and Daan'sha's female, Saa'retah, had been walking side by side for a short while, Syn kept his eyes forward as they proceeded down the huge corridors. It was eerily quiet in some sections, and every now and again Syn could see Saa'retah flashing him a sideways look, it was beginning to annoy him;
"You keep looking at me… Am I growing a tail…?"
"… N… No …"
"Then what?"
"Argh!" she snapped, blushing "You make me nervous, that is all."
"Why do I make you nervous?" he grumbled
"Because of what you are… A Hunter…"
"A Hunter…? If you are wanting to insult me, then you are indeed doing well. I am no Hunter, I have no boundaries, I have no honor of which to abide…" He lied "I kill what I am told to kill, Ooman, Kainde Amedha, Yautja… It does not matter which."
Saa'retah was now staring at him, eyes wide, he looked up at her quickly, and did his best not to smile, in his gruffest sounding voice he growled;
"Do I still make you nervous…?"
"………" she didn't respond.
A short while later, the pair came to the main junction of corridors on the ground level where the prime security station was located they kept walking straight, into the eastern passage. Approximately ten meters from the security console was the main personnel elevator for the eastern sector, after a quick ride down three levels, the pair exited into a short corridor. Syn'kra-vaal assessed his surroundings quickly, there were three larger medical chambers on the level, one to his left, one to his right and another straight ahead. The two chambers on the sides of the corridor were dark and vacant, whereas the camber directly ahead of them was well lit, Syn counted at least three Yautja. As they entered Syn'kra-vaal shook his head and growled quietly as he saw Cassandra on top of a large, hovering medical table, several mobile medical data relay sensors had been attached to her body. Along one wall of the large chamber sat several projection display hubs, much like the ones aboard Bre'ta'ak's elder class vessel, they all displayed greatly detailed data about the small human's condition.
Obviously knowing what she was doing, Saa'retah, went to the medical displays and started reading over them with another one of the Yautja in the chamber, another approached Syn'kra-vaal, it was the medic from the docking bay;
"Dawn greetings, Syn'kra-vaal."
"And to you, I am sorry, you know my name, but I do not know yours."
"Word spread quickly of just who you were…" he replied nervously "I am Tau'ken-re."
"It is an honor." Said Syn, bowing his head. "How is she doing…?"
"Well, you were right… In a way…"
"How so?"
"You said you were not sure how much Ooman remained in her, and I am unsure as well. It is not right what has been done to her… Never before have I seen such a thing befall an Ooman before. I am surprised she is alive…"
"As am I…" he growled, hanging his head "Do you think you can help her…?"
"Honestly… I do no think she has much time left… I am sorry, but I do not know what I can do… We have tried all sorts of stimuli, but she remains unconscious. For all intents and purposes she should be awake…"
"What have you discovered about the helmet?"
"It is something I have never seen before. From the scans we have taken, I am very certain that it would be fatal to remove it."
Syn howled his displeasure and with his fists clenched, he walked to the head of the medical table, even though there was state of the art Yautja medical equipment in use, Syn'kra-vaal bent low, so his head was near Cassandra's chest. He could hear the strange heartbeat she had acquired thanks to the humans, and it only made him more agitated, he growled quietly and placed both hands either side of her head. As he looked up to Tau'ken-re, he felt a familiar touch on his right hand, Cassandra looked up at him with worried eyes, he responded with a calming purr. He could feel her begin to panic under his touch; he couldn't blame her, being a human waking up in a room full of Yautja wouldn't have been the most comforting experience. She squeezed his hand with her own, he watched as her eyes darted around the large, well lit chamber, the Yautja male whispered to her in a deep, calming voice;
"You know how to scare me little one… I was worried you would not wake. Please, do not panic, you are among us, the Yautja…"
She swallowed and raised her left hand to her throat, Syn nodded in understanding;
"Tau'ken-re?"
"Yes my friend?"
"Have you any water…?"
The Yautja medical researcher smiled as he handed Syn'kra-vaal a clear flask of water from a nearby trolley and mumbled quietly;
"It would appear you have the supernatural touch…"
"Maybe so…" sighed Syn, calming as he secretly enjoyed the touch of her hand
"Daan'sha has been studying the technical workings of the helmet quite thoroughly, now that the Ooman in conscious, his presence here is wise."
"Indeed," replied Syn, turning back to his human friend.
Saa'retah watched as the Dark Blade visitor gently held the flask for the human to drink from, she smiled as she watched the two of them, the Yautja female laughed quietly as she thought about Syn's previous comment. She knew then that he wasn't nearly as bad assed as he had made himself out to be.
Finished with the flask, Syn sat it back on the trolley and turned back to Cassandra, their eyes met and like previously upon the shuttle, it seemed like a millennia passed by. The Yautja male could have sworn that he heard her voice, but instead he played it out to wishful thinking.
Tau'ken-re and the other medical staff were surprised that the small human was so lucid, they all paid particular attention to her neural outputs, Syn'kra-vaal over heard one of them say that one of the scans actually showed the second distinctive implanted personality. It was all too much for the stealth operative to deal with, he just moved to foot of the large medical table and stood watching and waiting. Syn wasn't kept long before Daan'sha ran into the medical chamber at breakneck pace, almost colliding with his old friend as he stood idle, watching the others;
"Tell me it is true? The Ooman is awake?"
"Indeed my friend, slow down before you hurt yourself."
"Saa'retah, tell me, what of the output from the helmet?" questioned Daan'sha, ignoring Syn
"I do not know, I have been more worried for her physical being at this stage…"
Daan'sha approached the head of the medical table, Syn followed close behind, wondering what the Yautja genius had in mind. As the two Yautja circled the table, Cass looked up at them, it was getting a little easier to concentrate and she could hear Syn talking to the other skinny looking male. She couldn't understand a thing they said, but she still enjoyed listening to them, Syn'kra-vaal's voice was somewhat soothing to her. The Gene Tech female moved her head slowly, feeling no pain she looked around the room a little more, and as she turned to look passed Syn and the other male, she felt her jaw drop. Very few humans had actually seen a female Yautja and lived to tell of it, Cass silently stared at Saa'retah as she gestured toward some sort of holographic display and quietly talked to another. The female stood at least a head taller than all the others in the chamber, and her physique was quite obviously that of a female, she was not as broad as the males, and her figure was quite supple in appearance.
As Cass continued to stare, the large female turned and looked the human directly in the eye, Cassandra blushed and quickly looked away, Saa'retah clacked in amusement and stepped toward the table. All the Gene Tech heard was the clacking sound over Syn and the other male talking, not sure of what to do, and because she couldn't talk, Cass reached up for Syn's hand. The two males at the head of the bed stopped talking abruptly and both looked down, Syn chuckled quietly as Cass pointed nervously at the approaching Saa'retah;
"Saa'retah that is…" he said carefully in the Ooman tongue.
Cass frowned and pulled his left arm closer to her so she could point at his wrist unit then to her own right arm, Syn nodded in understanding. He had thought that he may need the cable that the Gene-Tech had fabricated to communicate with the other wrist unit back at the Ooman complex. As Daan'sha and Saa'retah watched on, Syn'kra-vaal retrieved the cable from a pouch on his utility belt, connected it to his wrist processor and handed the other end to Cassandra. All three Yautja watched as she carefully picked out the freckle from her right arm, took a deep breath and inserted the communication cable. She appeared to wince in pain, but it was more concentration than anything else, all of a sudden a Yautja holographic text display began to project from Syn'kra-vaal's wrist computer;
"Oh my god, this is actually working…"
Daan'sha stared on, his mandibles held in a confused manner;
"How is this possible…?" he questioned in clear, well spoken English, Syn looked sideways at his friend as Cassandra continued
"In short, the implanted personality in this helmet known as CGX-2 made a software patch as a last ditch attempt to sabotage Syn'kra-vaal's shuttle before it failed due to the physical damage to my body. I am using that patch to communicate with you via the wrist computer…"
"That is amazing!" grinned Daan'sha
"Indeed…" frowned Syn
"Stop being grumpy Syn… I have control; I promise I won't blow us all to hell…"
She looked up at her would be Yautja body guard and smiled; something that made him feel as if the sun was shining on his heart. They all read the next text display in silence;
"For this body to heal, and for me to speak normally again I need to be able access the battle helmets operating system, I have tried to do this mentally, but CGX-2 is still able to prevent me."
"I have noticed several different digital signals being produced by this helmet, I was unsure if an attempt to connect would harm you or not…"
"I don't think it will harm me, it may piss the other one off something shocking though… So go ahead, judging by the wrist computer's operating system, I am sure if you have a main line computer system, that it would be more than able to access the Xeno-Tech helmet. This should give you an idea of the external system patch I require to access the helmet with…"
Daan'sha nodded, understanding what the little Ooman needed him to do; he turned to the female and spoke in their strange native tongue;
"Is she stable enough to move?"
"I think so, but I need to keep monitoring her. Tau'ken-re, what do you think?"
"You know more than I do about Ooman physiology than I do, but I think if you monitor her, moving the Ooman should be fine…"
"No one ever asks me what I think…" mumbled Syn, making Daan'sha burst out laughing.
Cassandra looked up at the Yautja from where she lay, the laughter was a little unnerving, but it did help to ease some of the tension, which was good considering she felt like a science experiment.
Cassandra's unique ability to multitask, even before the involvement of Min Gelia, had always been something she had never really thought about. But now, as she was being pushed along large, strangely architected corridors in a med-hauler, flanked by four Yautja, including the tall female, she noticed how much freedom it gave her. She could feel the strange mental pressure as the implanted personality poked and prodded at her mental barrier, trying to find a weakness. She was actually finding it a little easier to keep CGX-2 at bay, this made it easier for her to concentrate on other things, she was beginning to learn how to distinguish different Yautja from the way they looked, their character and some distinguishing features. Syn'kra-vaal was easy as she was more familiar with him than the others; she could tell from just his facial features when he was angry or upset about something, and when he was happy he did a funny thing with his upper mandibles.
As the Yautja named Tau'ken-re pushed the large hovering table, Daan'sha, Saa'retah and Syn'kra-vaal all talked in their strange native language, growling, clicking and purring as they communed. Feeling more and more awake as they moved through the large alien corridors, Cass reached out for Syn as he walked on her left side, touching his arm. He turned to her and growled softly, the data cable had been removed from Syn's wrist device while they moved her, so he placed a large, warm hand over her own as they moved through the large Yautja facility. He talked to her in his rough English;
"Travelling to a bigger chamber we are…"
Cassandra nodded in understanding and just kept looking around in amazement as they entered another large freight elevator, she could feel as they descended for a few seconds before the large doors opened, revealing the same large corridors but with a slightly different look about them. They proceeded forward, Syn still holding the Ooman's small hand in his own, the female Yautja, Saa'retah and the skinny male who seemed to be the brains of the operation walked in front of their little convoy. They continued to speak quietly to each other; Cass thought they must have been more than just colleagues as they seemed to share a more personal bond.
The Gene-Tech noticed that the doors that lined the corridors in this section were much larger than where they had been previously, and they all seemed to have intricate looking control panels incorporated into the outer armor. Each was marked differently and due to the fact that Cassandra had originally led Syn'kra-vaal to the human research facility by getting a basic understanding of their language, she could read the markings on each of the door control devices. They were all generically named apart from a few that stood out, 'Black Hole Project' being one of them, Cass pointed to the door as they walked past it and nodded at Syn who grinned and mumbled quietly so Daan'sha couldn't hear;
"I have no knowledge of what Daan'sha is doing in there… I do not think it would be wise to know… You might disappear…"
Cass smiled light heartedly, making her Yautja guard blush; it was only when they stopped moving that she looked away from him. Saa'retah stood facing Cassandra at the front of the med-hauler while Daan'sha opened a nearby door, the inside of the chamber was unlike the human had ever seen. There were banks of strange looking alien equipment, large holographic projections took up one of the whole walls, as they entered Saa'retah walked to a section of equipment and began to select several strange devices. Tau'ken-re, the Yautja who had been in the medical chamber removed a familiar looking remote medical sensor from the bottom of the hovering medical cart and set it up at the foot of the med-hauler. The medic was unsure of whether the synthetic helmet would interfere with the sensors data signal, so he purposefully programmed the sensor to monitor only Cassandra's biological readings.
Daan'sha pulled the med-hauler into the middle of the chamber and looked down at the Human;
"I am going to begin now."
Cassandra nodded in acknowledgement as the skinny male stepped over toward a large console that had been built in the shape of an arc. Daan'sha mumbled to himself as he started working, most of it was relatively straight forward and easy, he simply locked on to all of the digital signals being produced by the helmet. The massive processing power of the Yautja computer network was incredibly superior to that of anything the humans had developed to date; this made accessing the helmets operating systems much easier. Cassandra continued to survey her surroundings nervously as the skinny male made simple work of replicating the data from the helmets systems. The programs that were in her own neural net, and those of the helmet were quite similar, these were used by Daan'sha as the basis of the required operating system that would allow her to access the Xeno-Tech helmet.
Cass could see the Yautja scientist working, his claws danced across the consoles interface, giving commands to the system that was connected to the Xeno-Tech helmet, as she looked on, she felt a strange feeling inside. Suddenly her body felt laden, a heavy weight growing upon her chest made it hard to breathe; it was only then that it dawned upon her that the helmet was actually helping her remain alert; it was the helmet that was keeping her body stable. The human female began to feel a strange sensation, almost as if Daan'sha was causing the implanted personality some sort of discomfort, his systems intrusion into its operating system must have been causing some sort of mass havoc. The strange feeling increased gradually, like a pressure building up inside of her skull until it erupted abruptly, causing a great searing pain coursing through her limbs, she arched her back and gritted her teeth as bones and muscle began to shift and mutate, the stabilizing effect the helmet had over her body was obviously failing. Everything that had been artificially implanted in her was trying to find some sort of balance with the conflicting DNA within her system. The introduced nano-technological healing cells were working overtime, combating the mutating DNA, and if she had been back at the Ooman base, someone would have seen the problem and stopped it. Perhaps Min Gelia, the doctor who had first created her may have foreseen the problem and would have known that within a certain time frame that her body would eat itself trying to cope with the different genetics. Or that she would have rejected the changes. Maybe this is another reason they melded her with one of the Xeno-Tech helmets. Either way, her compromised immune system and the damage she had taken as well as the unauthorized altering by Doctor Murvane was too much. Her system was not designed to do more than the original specifications had intended, and even that would have led to a premature aging and death.
For a brief moment during the white hot pain spasms Cassandra's conscious mind actually entered the operating systems of the grotesque helmet, the surprise was almost so great that it disbanded the pain. CGX-2 was in a state of insane panic; Cass was shocked to learn that it had been created with the sole purpose of subduing her, mentally. It had always been there, ever since Gelia's interference, the helmet just gave it more control over her. One of its primary subroutines was that she, Cassandra, was the intruding entity and must be overruled at any cost. It was also trying to regain the memories of its previous designation. The alien hunter named Syn, the one whose name was similar to the spelling of a file it unknowingly possessed named Sin. As the note it had remembered reading said, he is special and his name may be a sin, be he is not. The logic was undeniable, and he called CGX-2 'friend' and also by its previous designation. Cass could now see that it was as innocent as she was, and was just trying to follow its base directives. It was that data packet named Sin that she had hidden before the implanted personality gained control that she needed.
As fast as she had entered the Xeno-Tech helmets network, she was barred from access once more, then pain returned as intense as ever. There was no consciousness, just darkness, and pain, oh how she wished the pain would stop. Some strange feelings came over her, then out of nowhere a voice, a beacon of hope in the realm of eternal darkness penetrated the pain, Syn'kra-vaal;
"Cassandra… Wake you must… Small Ooman, fight your way back you must… Please do not let it end like this…"
A wave of courage flooded into her, numbing the pain, she thought about Syn, and how he had helped her, even though she had tried to kill him, but he was able to see past that. His eyes were open, then, an action as simple as thinking about opening her eyes and the darkness was gone. When the light came back, Syn was shaking her by the shoulders, the pain was still there and it was hard to concentrate, but she could hear the tall female's angry tone;
"STOP DAAN'SHA!! SHE IS NEAR DEATH!!!"
"…One second longer…" came the calm reply.
Saa'retah growled and stepped toward the main console, Daan'sha looked at her, his fingers still skipping rapidly over the command sensor pads, he knew she was going to be upset with him, but he couldn't think about it. He was so close now, the implanted personality had been putting up a fight the whole way, but he didn't know that it would affect her like this. With a loud growl and one final stab of a claw he stepped back and took a deep breath;
"It is done…"
Cassandra's head began to clear again, she looked up at Syn, his emotion was one of anxiety and anger, and he stared at the skinny male like he wanted to kill him. She reached up and touched his face, he looked down at her in surprise as she shook her head against the fading pain. Wriggling lose of Syn'kra-vaal's grasp on her shoulders, Cass sat up on the med- hauler and swung her legs around so they hung over the side of the large hovering medical trolley. She knew what she had to do.
Daan'sha nodded and beckoned her over, Syn whimpered as she gingerly applied her weight and attempted to walk on shaky legs, she ended up leaning on her Yautja friend. Facing the main console she didn't know what to look for, but even so, she saw nothing familiar until she focused on a the large wall directly in front of her. A perverted version of a human operating system was being projected by the console, she stood in shock for a moment, before Daan'sha handed her the fabricated data cable;
"Connect to Syn'kra-vaal's wrist device; from there you will be able to access what I have made…"
She looked up into the eyes of Syn'kra-vaal as she connected to his wrist device, he said nothing, he just growled softly, his anxious expression still present. Once she had connected, it was a simple process of searching through the system of programs Daan'sha had created to access the Xeno-Tech helmet. Every being in the large chamber watched the display as she searched, suddenly she tensed up just as the display changed, a text message flashed up across the display, it read in Yautja;
"The implanted personality knows what I am trying to do. If this fails, you must kill me."
She looked up at Syn again and touched his face, she could feel his pain, but there was nothing that would stop her now, she had to have her life back, what was left of it at least. Syn tried to grab her to prevent her from doing what she needed to, but the small human shook her head and shoved him away from her. She fell forward against the console and used it for support, shutting everything else out Cassandra concentrated as hard as she could upon blocking out the intrusion by CGX-2. Suddenly the display changed again, it resembled many data packets, and there sitting oh so quietly in the mass of the list of simulated icons, stood a small trash can, a remnant of the message she had left for herself amongst everything that directed and controlled the implanted personality. She accessed the program and the display changed again, this time it was just one solitary icon, a simulated manila folder, a holdover from earlier human computer programs that had endured far into the future. The folder had a simple name on it, Sin. She restored the data to her own neural net with ease then the display returned to its previous view. In order to be rid of the CGX-2 entity, she had to permanently erase all the data in the helmets operating system. She felt the entities full force against her will as it learned what was about to happen, it was only the thought of her strange Yautja friend that gave her the strength to hold on.
As soon as Cassandra gave the mental instruction to the Yautja console to wipe the data from existence, the projected display shut down and she fell backward her eyes rolled back into her head and her body began to spasm and twitch. More spots appeared on her body, but not just Yautja markings, rosettes appeared in red blotches and a fine thin fur appeared in sections on her arms. Suddenly Cassandra's eyes snapped open and she screamed a painful, soul searing sound that roared from lips curled back in a frozen snarl. Blood dripped from her ears, and seeped from the corners of her eyes, still she screamed, her gold flecked eyes now had a cat like quality about them. Looking at the medical monitor, Syn could see her two hearts beating in disharmony from each other. Then as unexpectedly as it had happened, it all ceased.
Cassandra breathed heavily as she lay on her back on the cold floor, her eyes mere slits from the pain. A voice rough with pain, hoarse from screaming, but familiar and welcomed chorused the silence;
"Damn Syn, will there ever be a time when I am in pain, broken, dying or falling apart, that you aren't standing over me?"
Moving with a speed that would have surprised even the Dark Hunter, Syn was on his knees by her side, holding her, gently as if he were afraid that even his touch would hurt;
"Never…" he replied softly.