"…The captain suggests everyone prepare themselves as we exit hyperspace since extreme nausea is common. We'll be entering regular geo-synchronous orbit in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
The sound of retching echoed down every corridor of the Eternity.
Clean
Chapter 5
There was a new energy as the ship orbited the earth, and for once the Eternity felt much less like a prison. Kim was glued to the same window she had stood by for the past 2 weeks; just this time the earth glittered at what felt like an arm's length away. Even though it wasn't how she remembered, she still couldn't wait to get back. Maybe just maybe Ron was still alive, waiting for her. With Jazz's help Kim was able to remember a lot of things, such as her friends and her enemies. She was lucky, he had said, if she had taken the pills for the entire 2 weeks there would be no memory left. In her mind she would have always lived here on the Eternity, and the earth to her would have always belonged to the Hoobans.
"We won't be landing directly on earth, you know." Kim turned and smiled at Jazz who joined her at the window. "Another Hooban ship will come and escort everyone to earth in groups and the different groups will be sent to different sections of the globe."
"Where will we be going?"
"The former island of Santa Rosa just off the coast of California. The island it's self is now known as Vita, the Imperial Island. I'm sure the Regiri will want to meet you and your family. When you do meet her, you should never say no or turn down an offer. Whatever she tells you to do, do it because she has no reservation against killing humans."
Inwardly he grinned at her sudden look of worry. It wasn't because of the type of reaction she had, but the fact she reacted at all. In a world of research and logic, it was nice to speak and have someone listen, for them to trust and for once speak back. It was something none of the books or computer screens or parchments he lived with could provide. It was great to suddenly have two proposes instead of one, an advisor and friend. Kim looked to him for advice not because of his duty, but because she trusted him. It's what he wanted all along. His train of thought was thrown off track when Kim jumped back, the Hooban ship flying just feet away from the window. The ship it's self was so smooth as if its entirety was built of one piece. Jazz took her hand and grinned.
"Don't want to be late, do you?"
Kim's stuff was already packed; in her arms the Flamingoat Ron had given her, that memory returned along with many others. It was a present she found in her bag after waking up on the Eternity, on the tag with the CB logo on it was written, "You'll always be a hero to me." The best gift of all: his words. Another Hooban male was waiting at the air dock, his hands in the air, requesting the attention of those around him.
"Listen up, humans. I will request families A through B go to air dock 01."
"This is going to take forever," Kim whined. Jazz took her arm turning her to him.
"This way, I know which dock you and your family are supposed to go to." She blinked as he dragged her from the mass of people. Kim hadn't spent any time with her family, but with good reason. As much as she loved them, it was hard to forgive them for dragging her here, especially her parents who used such low tactics. "Here we are, the private dock for people going to Vita. I'll be riding with you." She nodded before looking up at him smiling.
"Thank you, Jazz. With out your help-" He held up a hand.
"Don't mention it; it's the very least I could do. Now, lets get your bags packed on the ship."
After placing her bags in storage Kim and Jazz found them selves in front of two doors, and on them Hooban markings.
"The one on the left is dry seating, the one on the right is wet." Kim hated not knowing what the runes said. Every time Jazz had to explain it to her she felt like a child, but she shook it off and reached for the dry door handle only for him to stop her. "I think you'll enjoy the wet more, especially since the dry will be crowded with humans." He opened the door and behind it was a wall of water. It sat there, moving like horizontal water turned vertical. He stepped forward and placed a hand into the water wall, his fingers quickly becoming webbed.
"Jazz, I can't breathe under water, you know that."
"Indeed, but with this you can." He tossed her what looked to be a choker with a large metal heart. "Put it on like a necklace and touch the heart piece. Wade and I developed it just this morning." She did as told and when she activated it she felt a quick serge of pain, a small trickle of blood falling from under the device.
"Ouch! What was that?" He grinned at her.
"Your sight might get blurry in a second, it just a chemical that's going to make your eyes build a protective layer of mucus to protect from the salt water. This necklace of yours is now connected to your Trachea, so heh, don't take it off."
"Trachea?! You mean this thing just punched a hole into my windpipe?!"
"Don't worry, the hole is pretty small. The heart works like gills and will make it possible for you to breathe under water."
"You mean breathe out of my neck? That is so going to be hard to get used to. Why—why am I not dying right now?"
"It only activates under water, so don't worry, and if it helps you any you could always hold your nose until you get used to the 'gills'." Kim crossed her arms at his chuckle. "Are we going to make ourselves comfortable or what?" He then turned and dived head long into the wall, his aquatic features returning at an impressive rate. Kim gulped before entering the warm salt water as well. The water did sting but only for a second and she was grateful her eyes were still open. The room was magnificent, the way the light through the clean blue water shimmered and danced. More amazingly, the way it reflected off Jazz's gem-like scales.
"You can blink now, Kim." Even though they were underwater she heard his voice perfectly, if not more clear than above water. It didn't sound in her mind, but deep in her ears. She blinked and began to open her mouth, but he placed a webbed hand over it. "Just because you can breathe under water doesn't mean you can talk yet." She nodded before removing his hand, looking closely at the webbing. She also noticed when in the water there were a number of black markings on him, including triangular lines on his cheekbones. He was indeed, a beautiful creature. Kim then wondered what female Hoobans might look like; after all she hadn't seen one yet.
There was a slight jerk as the ship pulled away from the Eternity, the force sending Kim towards him. Surprisingly his skin was cold rather than the warmth she could always recall feeling from…
"Is there something wrong?" Kim shook her head and Jazz nodded knowingly before swimming to the far side of the room. She was so warm, so soft, and it had to be one of the first times anyone had touched him even on accident, the sensation was spinning his world of logic. No, forget it he told himself. But after finally talking with someone, after finally finding a friend you realize how empty your life was before. Even though Kim was in the room with him he felt so very lonely.
The ship landed and Kim stepped from the water wall, to her surprise coming out dry. Jazz followed behind, from fins to legs not missing a step.
"Is everything ok, Jazz?"
"Yea, why wouldn't it be?" She wasn't buying his forced grin, but shrugged it off reaching eagerly for the door handle.
The burst of air once off the ship was more than refreshing. It smelled so sweet, and the sky was a much different shade of blue. It was heavenly, the water so clean and clear with fish swimming in the wading depths. And birds, there were so many of so many types, not just seagulls. She had to hand it to them, everything sparkled. Surely earth thrived now in the same pristine state. But when she walked to the other side of the ship where all the other passengers were, she stopped dead in her tracks. Kim could hear Jazz laugh as he placed a hand on he shoulder.
"Welcome to Vita, the Imperial City." Towering silver buildings stretched to the sky, their cylinders shapes taking her breath away. The group was guided into the city and from what Kim could see there were no streets here. Massive water tubes connected the buildings like arteries, all leading to a massive facility that resembled a group of silver bubbles; their round bodies grouping together forming something like a palace. Around the Palace stood huge cylinder towers, and a wall perhaps 30 feet tall. Walking under the massive city was amazing, the water sending dancing beams of light, and the shadows of the Hoobans as they swam from building to building.
"Jazz, this place is amazing."
"It's nothing like the Grand Imperial City on Hooba. This is just the beginnings, surely your New York City didn't look that impressive in it's first 3 years." His words brought forth mental images of the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, The Statue of Liberty. Were they in ruble or did the Hoobans really wipe this planet clean of all human life including its marks on the earth? Were the Pyramids gone and the Roman Coliseum? The Eiffel Tower? Thankfully she had pictures of them in her photo album, that way no one would forget humanity's accomplishments. They could wipe the world clean but they could never take their history. Never.
"Kim?" She blinked, snapping out of her daze. "We should be going, Regiri is expecting us at the palace and your family has been escorted to their new home." His expression darkened a bit. "None of them remember earth before, so you should be aware of that before you see them again."
"They don't remember? You mean-."
"Yes. I guess they didn't hear. But we should be going, it would make a bad first impression to be late."
Walking in the palace was beyond impressive. Gold and silver shimmering hallways with breathtaking paintings of everything from far off galaxies to animals Kim had never seen before.
"Now, Kim remember, never say no to Regiri, never turn down an offer and also don't speak unless you're spoken to. If you follow that and agree with whatever she says you'll be fine." She nodded, after all how hard could it be? Kim talked with royalty before…well Wally and his dad probably didn't count, but those chats with the Queen of England had to have taught her something. There was a massive door, six Hooban male guards guarding the door. It was interesting to see how their armor covered and protected those tubes. Kim made a mental note to ask Jazz about them later. It took all six guards to open the doors, the weight seemingly enormous.
Behind them was a cavernous throne room with a glass dome ceiling.
"Jazz, how kind of you to escort Ms. Possible here yourself. Please leave us, but know I want a word with you later about your punishment." He bowed before leaving, not glancing back at the now nervous Kim. "Kimberly, please come closer, there's plenty I want to discuss with you." Slowly she walked to the throne, her eyes wide at the Regiri in front of her.
The woman sat there, leaning on one elbow, her raven hair falling only on the sides of her face, the rest pulled high in a bun that sat on the back of her head. From what looked to be gem studs on her forehead hung strings of silver that draped elegantly over her blacker than night hair. Her silver-aquamarine skin was so bright in the ample light provided from above. Her form was small with the tubes from temples to back, but there was another pair that wrapped from lower back to lower abdomen. Her clothing was little, cloth tied around her modest chest and layers of roughly cut whitish cloth around her waist, hung dangerously low. An amused grin appeared on her narrow, sleek face as Kim stood there taking in her features.
"Your species is always so full of wonder, it's amusing." She stood, stretching as if she had been sitting all day. When she stood in front of Kim, her height was perhaps an inch less, but it didn't seem to bother the mer-woman. "Are you hungry, Kim?"
"Yes." Kim had to restrain herself, an anger soon approaching, after all this was the woman responsible for the death of billions of people and from her looks Kim's opponent wasn't a match physically.
"Your species did not suffer long, Kim Possible. If you're angry you should just say so."
"How did, you can"
"Read minds? Yes. Now, let's eat." The trip to the royal dinning room didn't take long. The floor, ceiling, walls and even the table in the center of the room were like a massive aquarium, scores of alien fish and plant life swimming and thriving. "Yes, gorgeous, I know. I had to bring a little bit of home with me."
As soon as they sat at either end of the 6-foot long table plates were placed in front of them, piled high with carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, corn on the cob, and the biggest, juiciest stake Kim had ever seen. The Regiri watched as Kim took the knife and began to cut her meat, eagerly eating it. The taste was different, a bit sweeter than the beef she had had before, and the vegetables were so juicy. It wasn't long before Kim's plate was clean.
"You enjoyed your meal, I see." From the Regiri's plate only the stake was gone. "Shall we get down to business? How would you feel about living here in the palace?" Her black eyes were focused on Kim, reading every process going on in the teenager's mind.
"Me? I"
"Forget that imbecile's warnings and just tell me yes or no."
"No, no I don't." The Regiri stood, arms crossed.
"Really? Why's that? C'mon, Kim Possible. Fear to speak your mind wasn't something I expected from you." Kim's eyes narrowed as she stood.
"I don't know, maybe it's the fact you killed the large majority of my species and destroyed my home! You took everything I ever cared about away from me and now you expect me to walk in here and be your friend?! Well you can forget it!" The mer-woman snapped her fingers and three Hooban males held Kim in place, their combined strength too much for her to escape.
"That is just what I wanted to hear." She walked to a struggling Kim. "Because how much fun would it be to hold you captive if you enjoyed it here? Lock her up, I won't have my brother getting his hands on her."
jao: Yep, next chapter coming soon. What do you all think about the Regiri? Charming isn't she?