The Dirty Pair and Dirty Pair Flash are owned by Takachiho Haruka and
Studio Nue and Nihon Sunrise Productions. I own only the new characters
added for purposes of this story.
&&&&&&
12:16:55
Yuri opened her eyes and tried to stretch as much as she could to prevent her legs from cramping. Zero gravity didn't appeal to her at all. It threw her orientation off. She wouldn't care if she were still in cryo.
A little more than twelve hours left. They'll be here soon. She was sorry she hadn't paid more attention during the special training classes on the new pods, or the survival training sessions, but she was having boyfriend trouble at the time and, well, she was distracted.
The pain was starting to return. She wanted more pain killers but she needed something to eat so her stomach wouldn't be too upset. The ration case was to her far left and too difficult for her to reach across her body to open it. Mughi saw what she was trying to do and used his nose and teeth to open the case and retrieve one of the ration-paks. Yuri bit it open and squeezed out some of the gunky stuff for Mughi, then took some for herself.
"Yecch, I guess this is why you stay asleep until they come for you."
She was hungry, however, so she ate it. She took two more of the red capsules. Looking out the view port, she tried to figure out from the star patterns just where she was. She thought she recognized M-13 but she couldn't be sure due to her lack of orientation. Not that knowing would do any good. She remembered what she could of the S-T classes and started to slow her breathing and meditate. Mughi's warmth didn't hurt. Her thoughts turned to Kei and 'Little K' and she smiled.
11:22:42
&&&&&&
Ja-len was anxious as he left the briefing room. He was now a Y-fighter jock aboard the Dirty Job V. This was a Yammamoto class star cruiser/carrier that transported 30 fighters and crew. Chief Basile was the commander of the retrieval team. They could track the distress beacon through a brilliantly designed algorithm that automatically adjusted triangulation at the rate of billions of cycles per second, even through warped space.
They couldn't warp due to the planetary mass of the solar system they were in, until they reached the edge of the system. They were moving at maximum impulse.
Countdown to warp - 6:17:20.
Ja-len's thoughts drifted to his older brother, Ra-uul. He was killed aboard the Dirty Job III when it was destroyed by Iwashimizu's suicide attack that had allowed Waldess to escape to Siren. Ja-len was a 3WA trainee at the time, following in his brother's footsteps. He didn't have any pull from friends or family, but he had ambition. Working as hard as he could, he finished fourth in his class and attained the rank of 2nd Ace. His brother would have been proud.
'Hold on, Yuri. We'll be there soon.'
He rubbed his hands together. He had used whatever influence he had to be a part of this mission. Originally assigned the Yellow Team lead, he smiled to himself as he thought about the bribe he paid his comrade (1 week's salary!) so he could be the Green (first wave) recovery squad leader.
His thoughts drifted back to Yuri. Yuri. He had loved Yuri since the first time he laid eyes on her. He stifled a groan at how cliché that sounded. He thought wistfully back to that time. He was part of the security crew that survived the assassination attack on Yuri as she performed the neural intrusion on Professor Kapps. Assigned "clean up" after that operation, he was greeted by Yuri as she passed him in the hall on her way back to HQ. She smiled at him as she thanked him for protecting her. His breathing - his heartbeat - everything stopped for that fraction of a second that she looked him in the eye.
A fraction of a second...
It was true what they had said. She was stunning. He vaguely remembered bowing to her and stammering that it was nothing. As she passed, he glanced at her retreating form, the swish of her hair across her calves and the lingering scent of her perfume taking him deeper into his hypnotic state. It took one of his colleagues slapping him on the back to snap him out of it.
In all the time since then, he never got up the courage to admit his feelings to her - he had never even approached her. He knew the type of guy Yuri liked. Rich and handsome, and Ja-len was neither. She knew nothing of his feelings for her, but he knew almost everything about her via information he obtained from various sources. Although it was true she was absent or late to work a lot, she was a First Class Ace pilot. That he knew from his classroom reviews of her missions. He made it a point to get to know Toma and had gotten what information he could from him. Toma immediately figured out his intentions, but helped him as much as he could anyway. He had been looking for an appropriate opening to introduce himself to Kei when she was called away for personal reasons. Then there were his own observations made whenever he was near her - and he did everything he could to be near her as often as possible. It was during those stolen moments that something he couldn't describe happened to him.
Since that first meeting in the hall, he had become her secret admirer, leaving little anonymous presents at her desk when she was not there, staying in the background to watch her reaction when she found his presents. Nothing major - her favorite potato chips, assorted candies, some flowers now and then, and ... his poetry. He knew he wasn't very good. In fact, in hindsight, he winced at how corny some of his work turned out. But it never failed to put a smile on her face when she read it and that made him happy.
His latest was a piece that was almost finished.
Yuri, my angel
when I awaken from my slumber, in that moment of reverie
you are there
at night, when I slip away into my dreams
you are there
and all the seconds of my life in between
you are there
your eyes, your hair, your smile
these all enchant and entrap me
should you ever honor me with your love
you would bind me even tighter
and I shall die of rapture
however, should you release me from these bonds
I would be but the orchid that dies
when the sun turns away its face
and so you see, my love
the end of my life is in your hands
will yours be the last face I see
as I leave this world?
will yours be the first face I see
as I ascend to heaven
my Angel?
Keeping a low profile, he had kept an eye on her through her various love affairs; from the meaningless flings to her deep infatuation with Julian. Julian. He ground his teeth at the thought of that idiot. Yes, Wendy was attractive, but Yuri was an angel. Couldn't he see that? Although Julian's loss was hopefully Ja-len's gain, Yuri's heart had been broken. It took a long time to heal if it ever did completely heal.
He shook his head. There were more pressing matters. He had to make certain she was safe. He closed his eyes as he thought about the risk he might be placing the other members of the team in, given his level of emotional involvement. He prayed his judgment wouldn't be clouded.
"I'm coming for you, my angel."
&&&&&&
Dr. Efren Sevahnn was hopeful as the he approached room 204. The head of the transplant division, Dr. VerHoven, had come back from her consultation with Kei on the boy's condition, and authorized him to discuss his prototype with her. Sevahnn had only been affiliated with this hospital's research division for 3 months. He was a partner in a startup company that produced biotech applications in addition to being a transplant specialist.
202, 203, 204. Here it was. This was where the beautiful trouble consultant kept a vigil over her adopted son. He knocked, waited a moment, and then opened the door. Chief Gustav was standing in the middle of the room with his back to the door. Kei was directly behind Gustav next to Keitaro's bed so he couldn't see her at first. Gustav stopped talking to her and turned to face Sevahnn.
And there she was.
Sevahnn had been monitoring the boy's room for a few days from the security cameras and had seen Kei onscreen, but nothing prepared him for meeting her in person. Kei was breathtaking. Her shag of thick red hair with the blonde streak made her look almost dangerous. As she looked up at the doctor, her piercing green eyes relayed her anguish at the situation she currently faced. Although her energy was diminished due to the boy's crisis, he could still sense her power and spirit and was spellbound. Kei straightened up to her full height and approached him. She moved with an athlete's grace, her muscles rippling under her skin. He stumbled slightly in awe of her and took half a step back as Kei moved to within two feet of him. Sevahnn blinked as Kei stared right into his eyes.
"What is it, doctor?"
"I... I have been informed that you need to leave Keitaro due to another emergency you must attend to." He tried to sound as professional as possible.
"Yes, and?"
"Just a moment" Gustav said as he moved toward the door. "I'll wait outside as this should be a private conversation. But Kei, we need to leave soon." Sevahnn waited until the door closed before continuing.
"I have a prototype device that you can take with you that will give you the boy's vital signs." He pulled out a device the size of a small compact. When opened, it exposed control buttons and a readout of heart, lung and brainwave activity. It was attached to a necklace.
"This is not yet available to the general public, but Toma and I are old friends from our college days and he has created an interface through the 3WA central computer so that the signal can reach you wherever the 3WA has a relay station in the known universe."
Kei thought about this as she looked at the doctor's outstretched hand.
"And you're giving this to me? Why?"
Kei knitted her brows. No one ever gave anyone anything. No! That wasn't true! That's the old Kei talking. The one who didn't trust anyone as far as she could throw them (and she had certainly thrown a lot of people in her time). She looked over at Keitaro. She had met some wonderful people lately. Yuri had changed. She could change. 'I have to start giving people the benefit of the doubt.'
"As I said -" Sevahnn continued. "Toma knew I was working on this and asked if I could lend you the prototype. As soon as I learned the reason, I was glad to do it. I, among billions of others in the galaxy, am safer because of the work of 3WA trouble consultants like you."
Sevahnn secretly breathed a sigh of relief that he came up with that story so quickly. How could he tell her the truth - that he had a crush on her and could barely contain himself in her presence? He was acting like some lovesick schoolboy. Kei took the locket from his hand and examined it. After a moment, she looked back at him and nodded her consent. He stepped closer to her, took the device and showed her how to operate it. As she intently listened to his instructions, he slyly snuck a sideways glance at her. He couldn't help himself. He was close enough that he could smell her. Her aura was making him woozy. He bit his lip as he came back to his senses. This was neither the time nor the place. He took a deep breath and resumed his instruction. With the audio and kinesthetic options turned on, she could hear as well as feel Keitaro's heartbeat.
"Doctor, you don't know how much this means to me." Kei said to Sevahnn. She clasped his hands into hers and failed to hold back the tear that travelled down her cheek.
"How can I ever repay you?"
Sevahnn fought dizziness brought on by the combination of her touch and the pools of emerald he was staring into. For the smallest fraction of a second, he had visions of he and Kei working out his "repayment", but quickly shook that out of his head.
"Please don't worry. If you will allow me to give you periodic direct updates I will be glad to do it. Also, you can return the device back to me personally."
Under normal circumstances, Kei's instincts would immediately alert her suspicions. Due to her current emotional state, however, she was very vulnerable. Sevahnn mentally kicked himself for having to be so underhanded in hoping to satisfy his ulterior motive. He was not a bad person. He was just a man. A man who was stricken temporarily insane. And the source of his madness was just inches away from him. Sevahnn reluctantly released Kei's hands and bowed to her before leaving. Gustav eyed him warily as he stumbled down the hall.
After the doctor left, Kei went to the night table and took a pair of scissors. She then leaned over and clipped a lock of Keitaro's hair. He woke up at her touch.
"Kei-kei."
He babbled his name for her and tried to sit himself up in the bed. She tied the clipping of his hair together with a piece of string and put it in the locket and closed it. Kei then placed the locket inside her uniform next to her heart. She leaned over him.
"O.K. now little booger, I'm off to save Auntie Yuri. You know how she gets into trouble all the time without me around to look after her."
She massaged his little hands, and then let him grip her index fingers. He was clearly weaker after the surgery, but everyone assured her that he was not in a life-threatening situation right now. She carefully lifted him so as not to entangle the wires feeding his monitors. The attendant nurse uttered a small gasp, but held back, letting Kei have her moment. Kei hugged Keitaro to her heart as he cooed happily.
Gustav had come back inside and cleared his throat.
"We have to leave now, Kei. You know I trust Basile on the recovery, but just in case..."
Kei put Keitaro back in his bed with one last kiss to his cheek. She mussed his hair and poked him in the belly. She nodded to the nurse as she turned to leave.
Keitaro, watching Kei's back as she walked away, grabbed the bed rail and tried to pull himself up.
"Kei-kei?"
He looked around at the strange room and the strange people and turned back to Kei. Surely she wasn't going to leave him here. She just hadn't heard him.
"Kei-kei?"
Gustav turned the doorknob and opened the door.
"Kei-kei!?"
Kei's heart trembled. It was suddenly very hard to breathe. She was about to turn around but Gustav grabbed her shoulders.
"No Kei. It will only make it more difficult."
Keitaro's toddler mind could not process what was happening. He was hurting. He was calling out to her but she was not coming. He had to follow her. He grabbed the bed railing and tried to climb out after her. The nurses rushed to him.
"KEI-KEI!!! KEI-KEEEEIIIIIIII!!!!!" KEI-KEEEEEIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!"
Kei didn't know what was worse. Hearing his pleas, or feeling his little heart beat even faster through the monitor. Thank god Gustav was here or she would have had a mental melt-down. They moved quickly out of the building and into the waiting van.
&&&&&&
02:14:17
Yuri hummed her favorite tunes softly to herself as she shifted again in confinement. With only a bit over two hours left, the unthinkable began to creep into her mind. What if they don't come for us in time? She reflexively clutched Mughi, a bit tighter than he liked. He hissed his displeasure. The creeping thought leapt and seized her mind. She started to panic and began to hyperventilate. She slowly regained control, but the thoughts wouldn't leave her.
'Time is running out.'
She hadn't thought much of dying; why she was still young and had her whole life ahead of her. She had survived many dangerous missions, partly due to her and Kei's extraordinary luck. She understood the dangers of her job, but she always thought that if she died, it would be in a dogfight or in hand-to-hand combat and she wouldn't have to think too much about it. It would just happen.
'Time is running out.'
This was different. It was as if the timer countdown was closing the window of her life slowly and agonizingly, and she was helpless to do anything about it. After over thirty hours of semi-wakefulness, delirium was beginning to set in. She imagined Death dancing around outside the pod, waiting, peeking in and mocking her when it thought she wasn't looking.
'Time is running out.'
01:09:54
&&&&&&
Nialunh watched impassively as her husband paced back and forth. Monsuud paid her no attention. Although she was first queen, she was rarely allowed into the military strategy room. There was so much activity right now that she was able to blend into the background in spite of her royal countenance and the rich fabric and cut of her dress. She glanced at his generals and other attendants and tried to piece together what was happening that had caused such a buzz. Were they at war?
She was his first wife, the oldest of his three wives and numerous concubines. She had borne him two sons and now, at age 30, she was of little interest to him any longer. Although she accepted her fate of no longer sharing his bed at night, she was still the First Wife, and as such retained a certain status. This she used to her advantage over the other wives and courtesans who, although younger and arguably more beautiful, would not be allowed to upstage her.
She watched him now, his back to her. She hated him. No. She loved him. She hated what he had become. She had been his first, and he, hers. She often recalled those days wistfully. Those memories were all that kept her going now. They had been in love back then; eyes only for each other. Since he ascended the throne, however, he had changed. Small changes at first, in his personality and mannerisms. After the first failed assassination attempt, however, fears that he had kept deeply hidden, even from her, began to manifest. Because they were assassins, by Savarian law, the intended target must be their executioner. It was the first time Monsuud killed another by his own hand, and something died in him that day.
Something died and something was born. Bloodlust. And something else she could not fathom. The man she tried to comfort that night in the bed chamber was not her husband, he was someone else. When he took her, it was not in the loving way he had in the past. It was... she shuddered at the memory. It was savage.
She was shaken from her thoughts at the announcement by one of the generals that they were within two hours of getting "it" back. It dawned on her. This had something to do with that woman, Yuri. Her court sources explained that this Yuri had gained access to the court only with the aid of secret resistance forces and had quickly charmed Monsuud with her beauty. She had arrived only a week or so ago, yet her husband granted Yuri stay in the duchess suite, an honor reserved for royalty. He was smitten, but she coyly resisted his advances. She used the access he granted her to find and remove an important document. Then she fled. Nialunh didn't know what the document was, but its loss had to be critical to precipitate this response.
&&&&&&
00:07:22
'Time is running out.'
Seven minutes left. When the life support failed, she would suffocate before she froze to death. No. She wouldn't wait for that to happen. It would have to be the cyanide. Yuri's thoughts then turned to Mughi. She would have to euthanize him before she took her own life. She thought about how she should go about it. Her only available weapon was her light saber. That would have to do. She would place the saber at the base of his jaw and fire it up, killing him instantly. It would be quick and painless. She would then swallow the cyanide. She began to lose her nerve as the panic set in again. The exercises weren't working anymore. Mughi sensed her fear and nuzzled against her neck, licking her face. This calmed her down a bit.
"I'm sorry, Mughi. It doesn't look good for us."
She reached into the medic-kit and opened the pouch containing the black capsule.
She placed it between her teeth.
She removed the saber from its holder.
She nuzzled Mughi's face one last time and kissed his nose as she moved her saber under his jaw.
She said a final prayer.
'God, I know I wasn't perfect, but I tried to be the best person I could be.'
She took a deep breath.
'Goodbye, everyone'
She gave one last thought to those she loved.
Then she felt the shock wave.
&&&&&&
&&&&&&
12:16:55
Yuri opened her eyes and tried to stretch as much as she could to prevent her legs from cramping. Zero gravity didn't appeal to her at all. It threw her orientation off. She wouldn't care if she were still in cryo.
A little more than twelve hours left. They'll be here soon. She was sorry she hadn't paid more attention during the special training classes on the new pods, or the survival training sessions, but she was having boyfriend trouble at the time and, well, she was distracted.
The pain was starting to return. She wanted more pain killers but she needed something to eat so her stomach wouldn't be too upset. The ration case was to her far left and too difficult for her to reach across her body to open it. Mughi saw what she was trying to do and used his nose and teeth to open the case and retrieve one of the ration-paks. Yuri bit it open and squeezed out some of the gunky stuff for Mughi, then took some for herself.
"Yecch, I guess this is why you stay asleep until they come for you."
She was hungry, however, so she ate it. She took two more of the red capsules. Looking out the view port, she tried to figure out from the star patterns just where she was. She thought she recognized M-13 but she couldn't be sure due to her lack of orientation. Not that knowing would do any good. She remembered what she could of the S-T classes and started to slow her breathing and meditate. Mughi's warmth didn't hurt. Her thoughts turned to Kei and 'Little K' and she smiled.
11:22:42
&&&&&&
Ja-len was anxious as he left the briefing room. He was now a Y-fighter jock aboard the Dirty Job V. This was a Yammamoto class star cruiser/carrier that transported 30 fighters and crew. Chief Basile was the commander of the retrieval team. They could track the distress beacon through a brilliantly designed algorithm that automatically adjusted triangulation at the rate of billions of cycles per second, even through warped space.
They couldn't warp due to the planetary mass of the solar system they were in, until they reached the edge of the system. They were moving at maximum impulse.
Countdown to warp - 6:17:20.
Ja-len's thoughts drifted to his older brother, Ra-uul. He was killed aboard the Dirty Job III when it was destroyed by Iwashimizu's suicide attack that had allowed Waldess to escape to Siren. Ja-len was a 3WA trainee at the time, following in his brother's footsteps. He didn't have any pull from friends or family, but he had ambition. Working as hard as he could, he finished fourth in his class and attained the rank of 2nd Ace. His brother would have been proud.
'Hold on, Yuri. We'll be there soon.'
He rubbed his hands together. He had used whatever influence he had to be a part of this mission. Originally assigned the Yellow Team lead, he smiled to himself as he thought about the bribe he paid his comrade (1 week's salary!) so he could be the Green (first wave) recovery squad leader.
His thoughts drifted back to Yuri. Yuri. He had loved Yuri since the first time he laid eyes on her. He stifled a groan at how cliché that sounded. He thought wistfully back to that time. He was part of the security crew that survived the assassination attack on Yuri as she performed the neural intrusion on Professor Kapps. Assigned "clean up" after that operation, he was greeted by Yuri as she passed him in the hall on her way back to HQ. She smiled at him as she thanked him for protecting her. His breathing - his heartbeat - everything stopped for that fraction of a second that she looked him in the eye.
A fraction of a second...
It was true what they had said. She was stunning. He vaguely remembered bowing to her and stammering that it was nothing. As she passed, he glanced at her retreating form, the swish of her hair across her calves and the lingering scent of her perfume taking him deeper into his hypnotic state. It took one of his colleagues slapping him on the back to snap him out of it.
In all the time since then, he never got up the courage to admit his feelings to her - he had never even approached her. He knew the type of guy Yuri liked. Rich and handsome, and Ja-len was neither. She knew nothing of his feelings for her, but he knew almost everything about her via information he obtained from various sources. Although it was true she was absent or late to work a lot, she was a First Class Ace pilot. That he knew from his classroom reviews of her missions. He made it a point to get to know Toma and had gotten what information he could from him. Toma immediately figured out his intentions, but helped him as much as he could anyway. He had been looking for an appropriate opening to introduce himself to Kei when she was called away for personal reasons. Then there were his own observations made whenever he was near her - and he did everything he could to be near her as often as possible. It was during those stolen moments that something he couldn't describe happened to him.
Since that first meeting in the hall, he had become her secret admirer, leaving little anonymous presents at her desk when she was not there, staying in the background to watch her reaction when she found his presents. Nothing major - her favorite potato chips, assorted candies, some flowers now and then, and ... his poetry. He knew he wasn't very good. In fact, in hindsight, he winced at how corny some of his work turned out. But it never failed to put a smile on her face when she read it and that made him happy.
His latest was a piece that was almost finished.
Yuri, my angel
when I awaken from my slumber, in that moment of reverie
you are there
at night, when I slip away into my dreams
you are there
and all the seconds of my life in between
you are there
your eyes, your hair, your smile
these all enchant and entrap me
should you ever honor me with your love
you would bind me even tighter
and I shall die of rapture
however, should you release me from these bonds
I would be but the orchid that dies
when the sun turns away its face
and so you see, my love
the end of my life is in your hands
will yours be the last face I see
as I leave this world?
will yours be the first face I see
as I ascend to heaven
my Angel?
Keeping a low profile, he had kept an eye on her through her various love affairs; from the meaningless flings to her deep infatuation with Julian. Julian. He ground his teeth at the thought of that idiot. Yes, Wendy was attractive, but Yuri was an angel. Couldn't he see that? Although Julian's loss was hopefully Ja-len's gain, Yuri's heart had been broken. It took a long time to heal if it ever did completely heal.
He shook his head. There were more pressing matters. He had to make certain she was safe. He closed his eyes as he thought about the risk he might be placing the other members of the team in, given his level of emotional involvement. He prayed his judgment wouldn't be clouded.
"I'm coming for you, my angel."
&&&&&&
Dr. Efren Sevahnn was hopeful as the he approached room 204. The head of the transplant division, Dr. VerHoven, had come back from her consultation with Kei on the boy's condition, and authorized him to discuss his prototype with her. Sevahnn had only been affiliated with this hospital's research division for 3 months. He was a partner in a startup company that produced biotech applications in addition to being a transplant specialist.
202, 203, 204. Here it was. This was where the beautiful trouble consultant kept a vigil over her adopted son. He knocked, waited a moment, and then opened the door. Chief Gustav was standing in the middle of the room with his back to the door. Kei was directly behind Gustav next to Keitaro's bed so he couldn't see her at first. Gustav stopped talking to her and turned to face Sevahnn.
And there she was.
Sevahnn had been monitoring the boy's room for a few days from the security cameras and had seen Kei onscreen, but nothing prepared him for meeting her in person. Kei was breathtaking. Her shag of thick red hair with the blonde streak made her look almost dangerous. As she looked up at the doctor, her piercing green eyes relayed her anguish at the situation she currently faced. Although her energy was diminished due to the boy's crisis, he could still sense her power and spirit and was spellbound. Kei straightened up to her full height and approached him. She moved with an athlete's grace, her muscles rippling under her skin. He stumbled slightly in awe of her and took half a step back as Kei moved to within two feet of him. Sevahnn blinked as Kei stared right into his eyes.
"What is it, doctor?"
"I... I have been informed that you need to leave Keitaro due to another emergency you must attend to." He tried to sound as professional as possible.
"Yes, and?"
"Just a moment" Gustav said as he moved toward the door. "I'll wait outside as this should be a private conversation. But Kei, we need to leave soon." Sevahnn waited until the door closed before continuing.
"I have a prototype device that you can take with you that will give you the boy's vital signs." He pulled out a device the size of a small compact. When opened, it exposed control buttons and a readout of heart, lung and brainwave activity. It was attached to a necklace.
"This is not yet available to the general public, but Toma and I are old friends from our college days and he has created an interface through the 3WA central computer so that the signal can reach you wherever the 3WA has a relay station in the known universe."
Kei thought about this as she looked at the doctor's outstretched hand.
"And you're giving this to me? Why?"
Kei knitted her brows. No one ever gave anyone anything. No! That wasn't true! That's the old Kei talking. The one who didn't trust anyone as far as she could throw them (and she had certainly thrown a lot of people in her time). She looked over at Keitaro. She had met some wonderful people lately. Yuri had changed. She could change. 'I have to start giving people the benefit of the doubt.'
"As I said -" Sevahnn continued. "Toma knew I was working on this and asked if I could lend you the prototype. As soon as I learned the reason, I was glad to do it. I, among billions of others in the galaxy, am safer because of the work of 3WA trouble consultants like you."
Sevahnn secretly breathed a sigh of relief that he came up with that story so quickly. How could he tell her the truth - that he had a crush on her and could barely contain himself in her presence? He was acting like some lovesick schoolboy. Kei took the locket from his hand and examined it. After a moment, she looked back at him and nodded her consent. He stepped closer to her, took the device and showed her how to operate it. As she intently listened to his instructions, he slyly snuck a sideways glance at her. He couldn't help himself. He was close enough that he could smell her. Her aura was making him woozy. He bit his lip as he came back to his senses. This was neither the time nor the place. He took a deep breath and resumed his instruction. With the audio and kinesthetic options turned on, she could hear as well as feel Keitaro's heartbeat.
"Doctor, you don't know how much this means to me." Kei said to Sevahnn. She clasped his hands into hers and failed to hold back the tear that travelled down her cheek.
"How can I ever repay you?"
Sevahnn fought dizziness brought on by the combination of her touch and the pools of emerald he was staring into. For the smallest fraction of a second, he had visions of he and Kei working out his "repayment", but quickly shook that out of his head.
"Please don't worry. If you will allow me to give you periodic direct updates I will be glad to do it. Also, you can return the device back to me personally."
Under normal circumstances, Kei's instincts would immediately alert her suspicions. Due to her current emotional state, however, she was very vulnerable. Sevahnn mentally kicked himself for having to be so underhanded in hoping to satisfy his ulterior motive. He was not a bad person. He was just a man. A man who was stricken temporarily insane. And the source of his madness was just inches away from him. Sevahnn reluctantly released Kei's hands and bowed to her before leaving. Gustav eyed him warily as he stumbled down the hall.
After the doctor left, Kei went to the night table and took a pair of scissors. She then leaned over and clipped a lock of Keitaro's hair. He woke up at her touch.
"Kei-kei."
He babbled his name for her and tried to sit himself up in the bed. She tied the clipping of his hair together with a piece of string and put it in the locket and closed it. Kei then placed the locket inside her uniform next to her heart. She leaned over him.
"O.K. now little booger, I'm off to save Auntie Yuri. You know how she gets into trouble all the time without me around to look after her."
She massaged his little hands, and then let him grip her index fingers. He was clearly weaker after the surgery, but everyone assured her that he was not in a life-threatening situation right now. She carefully lifted him so as not to entangle the wires feeding his monitors. The attendant nurse uttered a small gasp, but held back, letting Kei have her moment. Kei hugged Keitaro to her heart as he cooed happily.
Gustav had come back inside and cleared his throat.
"We have to leave now, Kei. You know I trust Basile on the recovery, but just in case..."
Kei put Keitaro back in his bed with one last kiss to his cheek. She mussed his hair and poked him in the belly. She nodded to the nurse as she turned to leave.
Keitaro, watching Kei's back as she walked away, grabbed the bed rail and tried to pull himself up.
"Kei-kei?"
He looked around at the strange room and the strange people and turned back to Kei. Surely she wasn't going to leave him here. She just hadn't heard him.
"Kei-kei?"
Gustav turned the doorknob and opened the door.
"Kei-kei!?"
Kei's heart trembled. It was suddenly very hard to breathe. She was about to turn around but Gustav grabbed her shoulders.
"No Kei. It will only make it more difficult."
Keitaro's toddler mind could not process what was happening. He was hurting. He was calling out to her but she was not coming. He had to follow her. He grabbed the bed railing and tried to climb out after her. The nurses rushed to him.
"KEI-KEI!!! KEI-KEEEEIIIIIIII!!!!!" KEI-KEEEEEIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!"
Kei didn't know what was worse. Hearing his pleas, or feeling his little heart beat even faster through the monitor. Thank god Gustav was here or she would have had a mental melt-down. They moved quickly out of the building and into the waiting van.
&&&&&&
02:14:17
Yuri hummed her favorite tunes softly to herself as she shifted again in confinement. With only a bit over two hours left, the unthinkable began to creep into her mind. What if they don't come for us in time? She reflexively clutched Mughi, a bit tighter than he liked. He hissed his displeasure. The creeping thought leapt and seized her mind. She started to panic and began to hyperventilate. She slowly regained control, but the thoughts wouldn't leave her.
'Time is running out.'
She hadn't thought much of dying; why she was still young and had her whole life ahead of her. She had survived many dangerous missions, partly due to her and Kei's extraordinary luck. She understood the dangers of her job, but she always thought that if she died, it would be in a dogfight or in hand-to-hand combat and she wouldn't have to think too much about it. It would just happen.
'Time is running out.'
This was different. It was as if the timer countdown was closing the window of her life slowly and agonizingly, and she was helpless to do anything about it. After over thirty hours of semi-wakefulness, delirium was beginning to set in. She imagined Death dancing around outside the pod, waiting, peeking in and mocking her when it thought she wasn't looking.
'Time is running out.'
01:09:54
&&&&&&
Nialunh watched impassively as her husband paced back and forth. Monsuud paid her no attention. Although she was first queen, she was rarely allowed into the military strategy room. There was so much activity right now that she was able to blend into the background in spite of her royal countenance and the rich fabric and cut of her dress. She glanced at his generals and other attendants and tried to piece together what was happening that had caused such a buzz. Were they at war?
She was his first wife, the oldest of his three wives and numerous concubines. She had borne him two sons and now, at age 30, she was of little interest to him any longer. Although she accepted her fate of no longer sharing his bed at night, she was still the First Wife, and as such retained a certain status. This she used to her advantage over the other wives and courtesans who, although younger and arguably more beautiful, would not be allowed to upstage her.
She watched him now, his back to her. She hated him. No. She loved him. She hated what he had become. She had been his first, and he, hers. She often recalled those days wistfully. Those memories were all that kept her going now. They had been in love back then; eyes only for each other. Since he ascended the throne, however, he had changed. Small changes at first, in his personality and mannerisms. After the first failed assassination attempt, however, fears that he had kept deeply hidden, even from her, began to manifest. Because they were assassins, by Savarian law, the intended target must be their executioner. It was the first time Monsuud killed another by his own hand, and something died in him that day.
Something died and something was born. Bloodlust. And something else she could not fathom. The man she tried to comfort that night in the bed chamber was not her husband, he was someone else. When he took her, it was not in the loving way he had in the past. It was... she shuddered at the memory. It was savage.
She was shaken from her thoughts at the announcement by one of the generals that they were within two hours of getting "it" back. It dawned on her. This had something to do with that woman, Yuri. Her court sources explained that this Yuri had gained access to the court only with the aid of secret resistance forces and had quickly charmed Monsuud with her beauty. She had arrived only a week or so ago, yet her husband granted Yuri stay in the duchess suite, an honor reserved for royalty. He was smitten, but she coyly resisted his advances. She used the access he granted her to find and remove an important document. Then she fled. Nialunh didn't know what the document was, but its loss had to be critical to precipitate this response.
&&&&&&
00:07:22
'Time is running out.'
Seven minutes left. When the life support failed, she would suffocate before she froze to death. No. She wouldn't wait for that to happen. It would have to be the cyanide. Yuri's thoughts then turned to Mughi. She would have to euthanize him before she took her own life. She thought about how she should go about it. Her only available weapon was her light saber. That would have to do. She would place the saber at the base of his jaw and fire it up, killing him instantly. It would be quick and painless. She would then swallow the cyanide. She began to lose her nerve as the panic set in again. The exercises weren't working anymore. Mughi sensed her fear and nuzzled against her neck, licking her face. This calmed her down a bit.
"I'm sorry, Mughi. It doesn't look good for us."
She reached into the medic-kit and opened the pouch containing the black capsule.
She placed it between her teeth.
She removed the saber from its holder.
She nuzzled Mughi's face one last time and kissed his nose as she moved her saber under his jaw.
She said a final prayer.
'God, I know I wasn't perfect, but I tried to be the best person I could be.'
She took a deep breath.
'Goodbye, everyone'
She gave one last thought to those she loved.
Then she felt the shock wave.
&&&&&&