A/N: Hello all! I know it's been a long time for which I apologize. Just a heads up for anyone that may be triggered by anything, this chapter deals with a sensitive matter that may be a hard topic for some people. If you have any concerns, feel free to message me if you would like a more extensive warning. That being said, I am considering increasing the rating to M due to some more adult topics that will appear later in the story. There will still be no explicit sexual content, as I choose not to write that. I look forward to hearing your views. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Mina heard back from Kenna the day following her conversation with Cowen. She was assigned a locker in the women's side of the military bunker that held her uniform and other materials. As she walked into the locker room, she felt very out of place. Several people turned and looked at her with questioning expressions. Mina smiled and gave a small wave in greeting. A few women returned her smile but others simply ignored her and looked away. She let out a sigh and made her way over to her locker. Opening it, she found several items.
She had a uniform, two pairs of boots, and a hat to wear. A belt hung on a hook in the back of the locker with holsters for a gun and knife. Sitting on the shelf was a wrist communicator, a knife, and a simple pistol. Mina reached in and picked up the pistol, weighing it in her hand. She had never held a gun before. All of the training her father had given her was in hand-to-hand combat. She placed the pistol back on the shelf and grabbed the card with her assignment.
Since she was receiving both military training and medical training, her schedule was packed. Three days a week she would be training with her new commanding officer, with days of training under Corric dispersed between. She had the final day off to do as she wished or to make up for things she was falling behind in.
Kenna had told her that she was to report to the office of Commander Nikomi Lunn after she changed into her uniform. Mina pulled the uniform and a pair of boots from the locker and quickly changed into them. She gave the weapons belt a glance before deciding against putting it on. She closed her locker and looked at herself in the mirror. Straightening up her uniform, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She placed her hat on her head and left the room, walking across the underground city towards the commanders' offices.
As she walked, Mina silently prayed that she wouldn't run into her husband while she was down here. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell him what she had done in an attempt to save the reputation of his name. She didn't imagine he would take it very well, as he didn't normally react to things in a good way. When he had finally returned home the night before, he had barely spoken to her. She could tell that he was still stewing from whatever punishment Cowen had dished out to him. Not wanting a repeat of the events from before, Mina left him alone to stew as she formulated her own plan. Now that her plan was working out, she was nervous about him finding out before she had a chance to fix things.
Mina kept her head down as she walked down the hall, hoping her hat would hide her identity if she did come across him. She managed to reach Commander Lunn's door without an issue and rapped her knuckles on the door to request entry. Her knock was answered by a voice telling her to enter. Mina opened the door and stepped into the small office, closing in behind her. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back like she had done when she was before Cowen. Her attention focused on the woman sitting at the desk before her, her eyes widening slightly when she recognized her.
"Ah Mina, good you're here," NIkomi said, standing from her chair and offering her hand for Mina to shake.
Mina unclasped her hands and shook Nikomi's hand briefly before returning to her previous stance.
"I was not aware that you were part of our military. I just got your file today and was looking over it before you came in," NIkomi said as she took her seat again, gesturing at the open file on her desk. "I see that your name is now Mina Kolya. I knew Acastus had gotten married, but not who the woman was. I must say I was surprised to learn that it was you. How did that come about?"
Mina cleared her throat before answering. She hadn't expected an interview of sorts. Just like she hadn't expected her commanding officer to be the mother of one of her childhood friends.
"My marriage was an arrangement that was made between my brother and Chief Cowen. It was made in an attempt to ease tensions between Cowen and my family and put our name back in good standing after my father's supposed treason."
Nikomi narrowed her eyes at Mina's response. "I knew your father. He was a good man. Whatever his actions may have been, I don't believe that he deserved what happened to him. I'm sorry that your family has been put through that pain, even if it was so many years ago."
Mina nodded her thanks in response to Nikomi's condolences. She was the first one to offer them. Everyone else had simply branded her father a traitor and left it at that.
"I also don't think an arranged marriage was the solution, especially to a man that is so much older than you. I didn't necessary approve of Alaina's marriage to Callistair either, but it was what she and my husband wanted, so I kept my silence. My question for you is, are you happy? Is this marriage something you want?"
Mina was taken aback my Nikomi's question. Other than her sister, no one had expressed concern for her happiness. She supposed that everyone viewed it as fulfilling her duty, similar to her decision to join the military force. The Genii were not known for caring about the personal happiness of their people, merely the survival and functionality as a people.
"It was difficult at first and we have had some rough patches, which have led me here, but I care for my husband a great deal. I am here to help dig him out of the hole that he has put himself in."
Nikomi let out a small chuckle, shaking her head. "You can't fix all the problems caused by men, you will be stuck fixing them until you die dear."
Mina smiled at Nikomi's remark. She didn't expect her to clean up the messes of her family, as Cowen had told her she was doomed to do. The fact that Nikomi sympathized with her warmed her heart. Mina decided that she wouldn't mind serving under her command.
Nikomi turned to a new page in Mina's file and looked over her copy of the schedule that Mina had. Her eyes widened as she scanned the packed schedule and looked up at Mina skeptically.
"Are you sure you can handle the pressure of this schedule? With only three days a week to train you, I will need to push to your limits. I do not have many students at this time, but I do have a strict regimen that I expect them to follow. For you to follow this regimen on your schedule, you will need to work twice as hard as anyone else."
Mina nodded affirmatively. "I am prepared to what I need to. The need for someone with my training is too important for me to duck out because the work is too hard."
Nikomi pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes as she analyzed Mina's face. Mina could sense some doubt, but she ignored it. Nikomi closed the file and stood up from her desk again. She walked around and gestured to the door to indicate for Mina to go out into the hall. Mina did as instructed and was followed out by Nikomi.
"Come with me. I will show you where you need to be and at what times," Nikomi said as she began to walk down the hall with Mina in tow.
Mina followed Nikomi to multiple places in the compound, making mental notes of where she needed to be and what she needed to do. Once Nikomi finished her tour and explaining things, she released her, telling her to communicate with Corric about what he expected from her. Mina left the training area of the compound and headed back in the direction of the compound. She felt overly anxious every time she turned a corner. Walking around in uniform was risky, as she could run into her husband anywhere. She made a decision that she would tell him what was going on as soon as she got settled into her new routine.
When she entered the infirmary, she looked around for Corric, but couldn't see him. She called for him a few times but got no answer. He must have been called away somewhere. He would have much more on his hands during her absence, a fact that he was very displeased about. He hadn't said anything directly to her, but Mina could tell he was disappointed that she was giving up her position as his assistant to follow a different path.
Unsure of what to do, Mina made her way over to her desk and sat down to wait for Corric to return. She didn't have to wait for long before the doors opened again. When she looked up to see who entered the room, she was disappointed to see that it was not Corric. Her disappointment quickly faded when she noticed that the people that had entered were very distressed. Ladon was supporting his sister as she winced in pain, clutching her stomach. He looked around frantically before his eyes met Mina's.
"Mina help her! She was working and suddenly screamed out in pain."
Mina quickly walked over to the pair and helped Ladon guide Dahlia to a bed. Once she was settled, Mina pulled off her jacket and threw it on the bed behind her, leaving her in a tank top and uniform pants. She moved to do the same for Dahlia, trying to access the other woman's midsection so she could examine her.
"Dahlia, I need you to tell me where it hurts."
Dahlia winced again and placed her one hand on her lower stomach, the other tightly squeezing Ladon's hand. Mina lifted Dahlia's shirt a small amount to expose the area she indicated, but stopped when she noticed some blood on the front of Dahlia's pants.
"Were you injured?" Mina asked, searching for some sort of injury on Dahlia's abdomen.
Dahlia shook her head in response as another wave of pain hit her and she let out a small cry. Ladon stood at his sister's side and looked at her with concern.
"What's wrong with her?"
Mina furrowed her brow in confusion and shrugged. "I can't see any source of bleeding. I'm going to need to remove her pants to get a good look. You might want to go in the other room Ladon."
Ladon looked at his sister and gave her hand a squeeze before letting go and walking out of the room to give the women some privacy. Mina pulled a curtain around them and helped Dahlia remove her pants. She was alarmed when she saw a large amount of blood on the inside of the pants. The sight brought back the memory of something she had read in one of the books Corric had given her about childbirth.
"Dahlia, are you pregnant?"
Dahlia's eyes widened in surprised at Mina's question.
"I don't know. I guess it's possible."
Mina's face fell as she realized what was happening.
"I'm sorry Dahlia, but it seems that your pregnancy has abruptly ended in a miscarriage. That's why you are in so much pain."
Tears started to fall down Dahlia's face as she covered her mouth in shock with her hand.
"I didn't even know. How did I not notice?"
Mina placed her hand on the woman's shoulder, giving it a sympathetic squeeze.
"It just happens that way sometimes. I assume Corric was the father?"
Dahlia nodded before her tears increased and turned into sobs. Mina held out her other hand, which Dahlia took and held on tightly as she sobbed through her pain. Mina couldn't imagine the pain, both physical and mental, that Dahlia was going through. She didn't know the woman very well, but she imagined the loss of a child was hard on anyone, no matter the stage of the child's life. She stood beside Dahlia until most of the pain had dissipated and she cried herself dry. Once it was over, Mina helped Dahlia get cleaned up before moving her to another bed to rest.
"Do you want Corric to know what happened?" she asked as she pulled the curtain around the recovery bed to give Dahlia some privacy from other people that may enter the infirmary.
Dahlia shook her head in response. "There's no point in upsetting him about something he didn't know about."
Mina nodded. "I'll leave it up to you on if you want to tell anyone."
Dahlia reached out her hand and grabbed Mina's. "Thank you Mina. Could you please send Ladon back in here?"
"Of course," Mina said giving Dahlia's hand a final squeeze before walking away to retrieve Ladon.
She let the two of them talk in private, walking back to her previous position at her desk. She leaned forward and rested her head on her palms, letting out a defeated sigh. If dealing with this kind of situation was hard, she couldn't imagine how it would feel when she was in the field and lost someone. Maybe she wasn't as prepared to deal with this as she thought.
A/N: Please review!