Ando
Chapter 26
Blaze closed his eyes, trying to conserve his strength as much as possible. He focused only on keeping them above water. He paced his breathing, although it was getting harder to draw air into his lungs. He'd been flash trained in cold water immersion and dozens of other scenarios. He knew his heart rate was slowing, but this would soon change to a rapid rise in blood pressure. If he didn't drown, he was at risk for cardiac arrest. But, before his heart stopped, he would loose control of his limbs. Already, his coordination was off and he was flailing more than swimming.
His body was shutting down.
He'd gone through many difficult exercises as a commando; times when he thought his body could not possibly go on any longer. This was no different. Except it was. The woman wrapped around his body, with her lips still pressed into his neck, made this scenario completely different. His odds would be better if he let her go and concentrated on his own survival. His training had been filled with confusing messages. 'Don't leave brothers' behind.' Yet, they were punished for trying to retrieve a fallen trooper. Dead clones were of no military value. One did not waste GAR resources. They were collected when convenient, and left behind when it was not. But, clones keenly felt the lose of their vode. For all that they'd engineered the clones, the Kaminoans never truly understood them.
Clones lived by their own code.
Blaze looked down at the woman in his arms.
Her skin was white, her hair frozen and her lips an odd shade of blue. She had stopped moving. Logic said he should push her away and let her sink. If she wasn't dead, she soon would be. But, he could not bring himself to let her go.
He was living on his own terms now. He'd chosen to jump into the water. So, few clones had control over their fates. He was dying a free man. He gazed up at the storm clouds rolling in. It struck him then that Viper had died a free man, too. It was the best death a clone could get.
His limbs were heavy and leaden now. It was too difficult to keep going, and he knew he was OK with letting go. He'd join Viper.
Blaze stopped forcing his limbs to move, and immediately began to sink. Now, he just needed to get through the drowning part. Technically, 'drowning' began as soon as his head dipped under the water. But, water wouldn't enter his lungs until he was forced to take a breath. He knew he'd instinctively hold his breath until he reached his breath-hold break point. And, as a trained commando, it would take several minutes until he broke.
Drowning wasn't pleasant. But, he reminded himself he was dying free. Maybe he should just get it over with it. Open his mouth and suck in a lungful of water now-
A bright light splayed against the back of his eyelids and he blinked his eyes back open again. Something hard and painful tangled and snared around him. He contracted his body around Jade protectively on instinct.
Fek! Ow!
He struggled, and the pain increased. Sharp ropes bit into his frozen skin. They burst through the surface and he was overwhelmed by light and noise.
"Blaze! Stop struggling! You'll break the net!"
He was so far gone, the voice didn't penetrate his haze.
"Blaze! Stop! The net won't hold!"
He continued to fight. It was instinct. The ship's horn blared and startled him, the sound so loud and intense it was temporarily deafening. But, somehow it cut through his frozen mind.
The previous few sentences finally registered.
Xyra. Hok's woman was shouting to him.
The ship. It was back.
He immediately stilled and realized he was being hauled up in the specialized net. It was the one they used to haul in the eight legged starfish. It had the longest range of all of their nets. But, it could also carry the least weight.
He forced himself to stop struggling, feeling the ropes press painfully against his already frozen skin. He didn't think it was possible to get any colder, but the moment they left the water the wind tore at his skin.
He'd never been this cold.
They were lifted up in the air by the winch, impossibly high, and swung back and forth in the high winds. His stomach lurched and he squeezed his eyes shut again. The pulley squealed alarmingly, struggling to draw up the hawser cable. He stared down at the freezing seas, churning and angry, ready to welcome him back into their icy depths. The winch motor screamed again battling against the wind. Blaze forced his eyes open. He calculated the distance down to the wooden planking below. No. There would be no surviving that drop. Maybe if he was wearing his commando armor. But, as it was, his bones would splinter if he fell from this height. The wind pulled at them again, threatening to yank them back out over the sea. To drown or smash against the deck? He held still and focused on shielding Jade with his body. He couldn't stop shaking, but he did his best to hold onto her. If they did fall, maybe she could survive if he absorbed enough of the blow with his body. It was a slim chance, but the best option he could give her. They slowly descended toward the deck. The winds kept up a steady battle with the servos all the way down. About four meters above the deck, the hawser cable finally snapped. Blaze kept his body curled around Jade, shielding her from the painful, jarring fall. Everything in him screamed at the impact, feeling it even more harshly because he was so 'effin cold.
He couldn't move.
He would never be able to move again.
Deft hands came over and pulled the netting off of him.
"Don't be dead. Come on. Come on." A hand slapped him in the face, and was immediately replaced with a scientific scanner checking his vitals.
He opened his eyes in annoyance. "Stop… that," he chattered out, barely able to get the words out past his numb, frozen lips and his constant shaking.
"Oh, thank the many gods of Ando! I thought that drop might have killed you."
Blaze glared and growled in annoyance as a response. "Could've… done… without… the… drop."
Xyra laughed. It was a slightly hysterical sound. "You've got the same stubborn constitution as my Hok. Do you think you could walk? I can't carry both of you down below. We need to get the two of you warmed up." She reached forward, running the scanner over her cousin. She shook her head. "Jade's in a bad way. Severe hypothermic shock. I can give you a stim, but she's so severe at this point, I can't even risk it."
"I'll… carry… her." Blaze attempted to rise, but found his limbs had other ideas. He was glued to the deck. The winds continued to tear at them, making even speaking difficult. Xyra yanked open the marine medi-kit and jammed the hypo into his neck. He yelped. His frozen skin was oversensitive. Everything shabla hurt.
"Sorry," the scientist quickly apologized, "I normally work on echinoderms and crustaceans."
Blaze scowled, not reassured at all, remembering some story Hok had told about being stitched back together after his encounter with the Oppee. He had the scars to back up his claim. As the stim caused his heartrate to increase, he could feel his cuts from the net start to bleed. He decided not to mention them. Hok's woman was an odd one.
The ship lurched alarmingly casted Blaze from his knees backwards into a seated position. Xyra grabbed the main mast to keep from falling. She cast a worried look toward the cockpit. "I can't stay long. I have it on autopilot. But with this storm, it won't hold for long."
Xyra gripped his elbow and tugged him to his feet. Blaze gave her credit. She was strong. She was pulling up his weight and the woman he held in his arms. But, even so, the three of them barely made it upright.
The deck pitched alarmingly again nearly sending them all crashing back down again.
"Come on!" Xyra shouted,"we need to get you two down below." The wind noise was rising, and the wave sizes increasing rapidly. They made their halting, shuffling way across the pitching deck.
It was slow going and Blaze fell painfully to his knees once, but didn't drop the unconscious women in his arms. They worked together getting Jade down the steps to the wardroom. Xyra jammed the switch for the lights with her elbow, and pointed to the bunk in the corner of the cabin. Blaze started working his way over.
"Wait," Xyra said. "You both have to get out of those wet clothes. You'll have to do it. I need to get topside. Strip her down. Warm her up. Skin-to-skin. It's the only way." She opened an overhead cabinet and pulled out a stack of empty blankets and tossed them toward the bed. "Bundle up under these and stay as warm as possible. I can handle the ship, but you need to care for Jade, OK? I'm leaving you the first aid kit." The ship tilted again. "I have to go!" The scientist took off running up the steps.
Blaze knew she was right from his training. This was no less than he would do for one of his brothers if they were in danger.
Think of her as just another vode.
He lay the woman down on the floor, not wanting to soak the bed, and focused on tugging her out of her sodden clothes as quickly as possible. He avoided looking at her naked form. He'd seen plenty of holos of naked women. He was as curious as any other clone. He didn't need to violate this woman's privacy. Feeling the pressure of time, he tore off his bodysuit and soaked fisherpants and tossed them aside. The bodysuit stuck in the places where the net had torn into his skin. The stim had warned his frozen body up enough to allow him to start bleeding, and he winced as he pulled the suit away. He glanced down at the cuts. They were deep. And, likely still had bits of the rope still in them. But, he had no time to clean them. He had to take care of Jade.
The cold and exhaustion were overriding the small boost he'd gotten from the stim and trembling racked his frame. He gathered up the woman in his arms again, struggling to his feet. He barely made it.
Blaze pushed the woman into the bed and slid in after her, trying not to overthink what they were doing.
A woman had once invited him into her bed and it had ended badly. Very badly.
This was nothing like that time. They were not sharing a bed. He reached for the pile of blankets left by Xyra, feeling his muscles protest even that small action. He arranged the blankets the best he could over them, but his arms were screaming in protest from the slightest movements. He wrapped himself around Jade.
She was cold. He arched away from her, his body instinctively objecting to being made colder. He forced himself to draw nearer to her again. He was only marginally warmer than her, thanks to the additional protection of his bodysuit and the effects of the stim. But, they were all each other had right now, and their only chance of survival. He curled himself tightly around her, hissing against the discomfort of her icy skin. He reached one hand out to draw the blankets more tightly around them, trying to create a warm cocoon.
The pitching and roiling of the ship grew worse. Blaze wondered if they were going down. How many storms had this ship weathered? Hok seemed to have a lot of confidence in the ship, and spoke fondly of it. Blaze's stomach protested against the wild motions. He'd been through many a tough landing on a LAAT, but this was extreme even for a trooper. He glanced down at Jade. She was still out, but her coloring had improved slightly. The blue tint was gone from her lips, the ice melted from her hair, and her face not so deathly pale. Dimly he was aware that his cuts were still bleeding. He knew he should tend them. He was likely bleeding on the woman. But, he didn't want to let her go. He'd promised to take care of her.
Day turned into night, and still they continued slogging on through the storm. Blaze tried to force himself to stay awake. But, his exhausted body refused to cooperate and he passed out, the woman still tucked securely in his arms.
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