Note: Hi, Ahmose! - waves –

3. Soul Survivor

"Ari, I …"

"Spill it, honey. I don't have all day."

"I assure you that I am in no condition to attack you. If you drop your knife, I will answer your questions."

Ari didn't budge. Jack licked his lips.

"Please?" he asked.

After an icy pause, Ari put her knife down and backed off. Her eyes were suspicious green slits. Jack introduced himself, quietly and succinctly. When he was finished, the nurse was struck dumb, her mouth hanging open.

"I knew there was something different about you," she said finally. "When I took off your armor on the rug, your sword was the weirdest-looking thing I'd ever seen. It – it's safe in the armory, don't worry." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I've never seen Samurai Jack. Not even a Wanted poster. I thought he was a myth, to tell you the truth."

"Well, I am quite real."

She nodded. "Listen, this should stay between us, Jack. Nobody here has seen you, but you're an official enemy of the Empire. If you were discovered, you'd be killed. Hell, I'd be killed! I think your best bet, at least for now, would be to pose as Kit Renakalli."

Jack wasn't so sure. "But I know nothing of this Empire," he protested. "And worse, I know nothing of Kit Renakalli. I would give myself away immediately!"

"No, you wouldn't. Around here, battalions stay separate from each other, and record-keeping is laughable. The accepted fact is that every scruffy bastard in Troop 49 bit the dust … except you."

"But impersonating a dead man is wrong."

She shook her head. "You're not hearing me. You have to recuperate. And an identity that no one in his right mind will question just fell into your lap. It'll take more than blankets to cover your ass, Jack. Understand?"

Jack sighed and looked at her for a long moment, making up his mind. Then he nodded.

"All right. Let's try this again. What's your name?"

"Kit Renakalli. I am an Ipshen. The sole survivor of Troop 49."

"So glad to see you have your memory back," Ari said, and flashed him a sly grin. She opened her mouth to speak again, but suddenly she went utterly still, her eyes wide, her ears pricking this way and that.

She heard stomping, big boots against the stone floor. Crude, harsh voices. Laughter. Finally Jack heard it, too. They stared at each other.

"Hey Ari! 'Ya busy?" came a deep voice from outside, flanked by drunken guffaws.

Without preamble Ari scrambled on top of Jack, blankets and all, and straddled him. First Jack was surprised. Then he was horrified. Ari was rocking back and forth and moaning, moving just enough to make the bed squeak. Shamed and flushing, Jack froze up like a board underneath her.

"Oh!" she moaned, frantically prompting him to play along.

He didn't. She kept rocking and moaning like her life depended on it until they both heard "… Guess so." When the footsteps faded, it took her a moment to stop rocking. Then she dropped the act completely and pricked up her ears again. The silence buzzed.

With a sigh of relief, she clambered off Jack and sat down at his side.

"Sorry," she said. Then she winced, possibly at the inadequacy of the word.

Jack stared at her, stunned.

"You get used to it," she finished stoically, seeing his wide eyes.

"Used to it?"

Ari ignored his question. She plastered on a smile and said, "Here. Let me fluff your pillow."

Jack allowed this, too shocked to protest that he was fine. She worked slowly. Jack didn't know where to look after what had just happened. He certainly couldn't look at Ari. He kept his eyes on the ceiling until she had finished and the silence had become unbearable.

"Do you do … that … for every soldier in your care?" he asked, and forced himself to meet her eyes.

"No," Ari said. Her voice quivered slightly. "I do that for every soldier who asks me to."

Jack had seen things and he had heard things, but he had never seen anything quite like Ari, and he had never heard anything quite like that. He laid a hand on her arm. She pulled away as though she'd been burned.

"You're probably hungry. I'll bring you something to eat. Just rest, I'll be back in a minute."

Babbling something about soup, she disappeared in a blur of purple and gray. Jack lay back against the pillows. His 'nurse,' if that was indeed her job description, was definitely not here by choice. He'd have to get her to talk.

She was back in a moment with a bowl of stew and some soft bread on a tray. She offered it to him and sat down at his side while he ate. The infirmary's other beds were empty. Ari was determinedly looking anywhere but at him.

Jack sipped his soup. It tasted terrible, but he made no comment. He was more interested in the slight changes of Ari's features, and the way her ears twitched. He had figured out long ago that one of the best ways of gathering information was to say nothing at all and let things take their course.

So he dug into the bread and watched Ari out of the corner of one eye. She was losing some kind of battle with herself, nervously bouncing one of her furry legs up and down, clicking her claws, and gently biting her lower lip with her pearly fangs. And then she snapped.

"I used to be a real nurse," she blurted out.

Jack looked up, his cheeks stuffed full of bread, and blinked at her.

"I worked in a town called Brinecreek. It was a nice place, and we had a great hospital – excellent doctors, top notch ER. I loved my job. I was good at it, too. I made Head RN last year." She paused. "And then they came."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"The Goons. The uh, the Gunzai Empire. General Dogface and her scabby troops came into Brinecreek and announced that we were being taken over by the Empress of Gunzai. And since we'd all heard of the Empress of Gunzai, well, everyone panicked. The Gunzai Empire is ruthless. If you submit, life is just a little better than death. And if you resist…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

"What happened in Brinecreek?" Jack asked. He had a terrible feeling that he already knew the answer.

"Hell," Ari said simply. "The troops razed the town. Half the men were killed and the other half I saw taken away. To be what, I don't know. My husband was a doctor. He was taken. I don't know what's become of him. And I…"

Suddenly, a stream of images went racing through Jack's mind. Burning homes. Screaming children. Whips and chains. Death and mayhem. The steady, percussive march of a troop of soldiers, carrying protesting cat-women over their shoulders. And there was Ari, standing on a scaffold surrounded by other dirty, unclothed, frightened creatures. Someone was pointing at her and shouting "10 Imperial Dollars!" Someone else was grabbing her ears and taunting her. "You'll make a good nursie, won't you?"

"Jack? Jack!"

He snapped out of it. Ari was looking at him in concern. He'd broken out in a cold sweat.

"Jack, what's the matter?" She mopped at his brow with her sleeve.

"I … I saw …" he stammered.

Ari leaned back then and scrunched her eyes. She shook her head and blinked furiously. Then she swore.

"This can't stay between you and me. Too many damn NOSY ALIENS AROUND HERE!" she yelled finally, whirling around to face the door of the infirmary. When nothing happened, she huffed in exasperation and called, "Unt-Ork, get your little gray pumpkin butt in here! Stat!"

"Beep-eh-doop!"

The reply was high-pitched and insulted, as near as Jack could tell. Then the door opened and what could only be described as a "traditional" extraterrestrial stepped in. Its bald gray head, nearly engulfed by its huge black eyes, shone in the dim light. Its nose and mouth were tiny. Two slim gray antennae pricked this way and that. But this particular alien, rather than being tall and skinny, was plump and small and wore a yellow dress with a white apron. It seemed to be quite annoyed with Ari.

"Anga-taka-wingee-doopo!" it peeped angrily, skittering over to the bed. "Chukla! Beep-eh-deepy."

This creature was a lot less freakish than some of the other aliens Jack had encountered. In fact by alien standards it was kind of cute. But those eyes were unnervingly large. Ari just glared rudely at the newcomer.

"Ah farg off, ya paperweight!" Ari turned to Jack with a sigh. "I can always tell when Unt-Ork is listening in on a conversation. She does a 'thought-switch' and gives herself away. You started sweating and I saw cherry blossoms … I'm sorry."

"You should not apologize for your memories," said Jack, as Unt-Ork hopped up on the bed and toddled over to him. She was about as tall as a four-year-old human.

Without any hesitation she gently poked his forehead with one of her antennae and began to feel his face with her tiny hands. Baffled, Jack stared deeply into her obsidian eyes. A green alien language seemed to zip by across her corneas. Finally, one set of symbols stayed and winked at him, then disappeared. He looked to Ari for an answer.

"She's just figuring you out," said the cat-woman. "Don't mind her."

Unt-Ork backed off two paces, blinked once, and opened her tiny mouth. "Greetings, Samurai!" she said. Her voice was high and reedy, but not unpleasant. She gave Jack a gigantic Cheshire-cat smile and finished, "Rest assured, I will keep your secret."

Jack blinked at the pair of them. Meeting cat-people and aliens had not been on his agenda when he was wandering through the forest. Then again, he hadn't expected a snow beast or a brand-new identity. He remembered that he still had to thank the healer.

Of course with his luck, there would probably be a talking octopus under that cloak.

TBC