Genesis or Exodus
Chapter two.
Bo bit her tongue and swallowed the laugh of disbelief that threatened to erupt from her. The look of determined belief and the inflection of truth in The Matriarch's statement gave the commander pause. Her finger twitched on the trigger guard of her rifle. She hadn't expected this kind of open hostility upon her and her squad's arrival. Bo decided to say just that, to break the long silence that was growing between them.
"Our greeting has certainly been more hostile than expected. I had no idea our presence was going to be unwelcome. People are usually thankful and grateful for the alliances assistance and I was made to believe that this mission was of the utmost importance. Why else would they have sent ME! I am a decorated officer and my team is elite. We have turned the tides on a losing battle to bring the alliance to victory. Why would the most powerful being in the universe need a squadron of bodyguards?"
Lauren pursed her lips at this woman's arrogance. "So I should feel honoured to have you on my ship?"
Bo stood up a little straighter and lifted her head and looked at Lauren with her steely gaze that had been known to make people tremble. The Matriarch didn't even flinch, "A little gratitude would be nice, yes. And putting away the guns that have me in their sights would go a long way in easing the tension in this hangar right now."
The Matriarch surprised Bo by throwing her head back and laughing. The sound echoed throughout the cavernous docking area and it unsettled the Commander more than the turrets did. Bo was rarely caught off balance, but she honestly wasn't sure what to make of the woman standing in front of her. The musical laughter stopped as abruptly as it had started and Lauren was once again looking at her as if she was an insect that should be squashed for being a nuisance.
"You exited your shuttle with your gun at the ready and have had it pointed at my person since we started conversing. Could that not be considered equally hostile? Especially seeing as you have been sent here to protect me, not shoot me."
Bo looked down at her rifle, which was in fact pointed at Lauren. "Force of habit. I haven't stayed alive all this time by being trustworthy of strangers." Bo lowered her gun and let it hang by the strap against her side. "Is that better? Now you."
"Very well." Lauren raised an arm that had a shimmery silver bracelet attached to it. Using her other hand, she swiped a finger across the shiny material and a small screen lit up beneath her fingers. With a simple command the turrets returned into their towers. Lauren plugged in another command into her device before lowering her arms to her sides once more. "Please give your signal to the rest of your party that they are now free to disembark the shuttle."
"Finally," Mac cried out, slamming her fist against the door and dragging a crate out with her.
Bruce carried two weapons cases upon his huge shoulders. He had to turn sideways in order to fit through the door. Vex followed behind the big man and took in a big breath of the fresh air once his feet hit the floor of the Genesis.
"Just leave the equipment there for the moment and get into formation behind me!," Bo barked to her squad.
Bo introduced the three soldiers to Lauren and she greeted them with a lot more cordiality than she had her. "Welcome aboard the Genesis. I am sure that your journey as been a tiresome one and we will get you and your gear to the sleeping quarters immediately." Lauren let out a cry in a dialect that Bo did not recognise and the commander was once again standing in battle readiness as a half dozen creatures that stood at only half her height came out of nowhere with several hover carts to transport her squad and their belongings. They had fuzzy little bodies that came in a variety of different colours and pig like snouts. But every single one of the creatures seemed to have distinct and different black markings in various forms of circles and stripes that made each of the creatures unique.
"Where the hell did they come from and what the hell are they?," Bo asked, her tone a mix of uncertainty and curiosity.
Lauren's friendly face was gone once more and Bo wondered why the Matriarch seemed to dislike her so much. "They are valuable members of my crew and descend from a lost civilization called The Orai. They are sweet natured, loyal and incredibly smart. There are several hundred on this ship and I would appreciate if you just left them to their work if you encounter them during your stay upon my vessel.
"I think they're cute!" Vex said as he happily climbed aboard the first hover cart. Lauren shared another small smile with Bo's navigator.
Why don't I get a smile?, Bo thought and then frowned at why she cared whether this woman treated her well or not.
Lauren accessed communications with Hale on the bridge, "Hale?"
"Yes, Matriarch?"
"Where are we housing our guests for their stay?"
"They are staying on deck C, ma'am, and the Commander will be in the state cabin beside you on deck A."
Lauren scowled, "Excuse me a moment." Either the Matriarch didn't know that her voice, no matter how low it was spoken, was amplified in the hangar or she just didn't care, but Bo heard it all. "Why can't she stay in the same quarters as the rest of her squad?"
Bo had been about to insist that she be stationed with her squad, but seeing the discomfort The Matriarch found with having Bo next to her own living quarters, made her keep her mouth shut. The woman had been difficult and ungracious since she had set foot on the Genesis' deck, so the commander felt a spike of joy at returning some discomfort on her in return. Bo broke through whatever efforts Lauren was trying to wiggle her way out of Hale's sleeping arrangements. "That sounds perfect! I Would prefer to be closer to you. I have been ordered to keep you safe and alive at all costs, after all."
Lauren slammed a finger down on her communicator cutting off her connection to her man on the bridge and turned to face the Commander. "Fine! But I don't need a damn babysitter! Especially on my own damn ship!"
"Better safe than sorry. The Elders told me pirates have attempted to board and take over Genesis twice in the last month."
Lauren sneered at Bo. She could tell that the brainwashed alliance flunky was enjoying rubbing Lauren's face in the fact that she would be stuck with her and the other members of her team for quite some time. "They try and they fail. I am in no danger on board this ship, her defences are too damn strong." Lauren paused and spoke to one of her small crew members in their native tongue, who rushed off and returned a few moments later with a stack of items. Lauren took the items from him and started to hand them out as she spoke. Here is a data tablet with the necessary information you need to get around the ship and this is your own personal hover disc so that you can get around quicker. She paused in front of Bruce, "I may need to modify a hover disc for you. The generic one may fail to fly reliably with your body size and weight. I will have it delivered to your room by the time you are up from your rest cycle."
Bruce smiled, "thank you, ma'am."
Lauren continued to lay out the fine points of what her new visitors needed to do to be safe when the next foolhardy party of pirates thought they could take Genesis from her. "When you awaken from your rest cycle and have eaten, I will require you all to have a simple injection and a chip inserted at the base of your necks. So please do not postpone coming to the infirmary straight after finishing up at the mess hall. The Orai will now take you to your rooms." Lauren turned to the commander who seemed to have gotten very pale and extremely agitated. Even more agitated than she already had been, that is. "I suppose I shall escort you to your living quarters seeing as Hale has put you right next to me."
"I will not be having any injections administered by you or anybody and I can find my own damn way to my cabin," Bo exclaimed through clenched teeth, before promptly activating her hover disc and disappearing at full speed and precision out of the hangar.
Lauren cursed before turning her attention to the remaining soldiers who were glancing at each other knowingly. "Would one of you care to tell me what the hell just happened!"
Mac went for the flippant and sarcastic response, "I thought that would be rather obvious, the Commander does not care for needles of any kind. She hasn't had one for years."
"Well, that is absurd and out of the question. Unless she would like to die with the next wave of pirates, she WILL have an injection."
The soldiers once again communicated silently between themselves. "What do you mean she will die?," Vex asked uncertainly.
Lauren rolled her eyes, "Upon enemy boardings Genesis releases pathogens into the oxygen supply. Up to a dozen deadly plagues are released and if you have not had the injection administered and you breath the ship's air you will become sick and incapacitated within the hour and die a horrible and painful death."
There were collective exclamations of colourful expletives from several alien dialects at the explanation of Genesis' primary defence system. Mackenzie spoke again, but this time her tone was serious, "Bruce? Will you fill the Matriarch in on what happened to provoke our Commanders phobia. You were there and would be able to shed the best light on the incident. While we are moving towards our bunks if you could, I really need some fraking sleep."
"Matriarch?," Bruce said softly in his deep baritone voice and motioned to the remaining space of the seat he sat upon.
"Very well." Lauren motioned for the Orai in the hover cart holding Vex and Mac to disembark for the crew cabins on deck C. She then climbed into the second cart and squeezed in beside Bruce. The bulky soldier tried to move a little more to give Lauren some more room, but she patted him on the leg and shook her head. "It's okay, Bruce. I am snug, but comfortable enough... please just tell me why your Commander has refused to have this crucial injection."
Bruce shifted a little more, Lauren wasn't sure whether it was to get comfortable or if it was the discomfort he felt having to tell this particular story. The Matriarch had a feeling that she may be in for quite a tale as an explanation for Bo's irrational fear and behaviour and she also had a feeling that the Commander would not be pleased with her soldier for sharing it. Bo's phobia would be seen as a weakness and warriors in command are not supposed to show weakness, especially soldiers as highly decorated as Commander Bo Dennis.
Lauren was brought out of her thoughts as Bruce started to speak in a hushed tone, "Three years ago, myself and Commander Dennis were captured by enemy insurgents. We were beaten and tortured for days. They tried everything to get the Intel that she carried, including sticking needles into my Commander's eyes while I watched helplessly chained to a cave wall."
Lauren gasped and held a hand over her mouth. She took a moment to get her thoughts in order. No wonder she doesn't like the sight of needles! To have been made to watch them coming towards you and not being able to stop it! Lauren shuddered at the thought. "I have read about this form of torture, but all the accounts I have read resulted in the torture victims being permanently blinded. There is absolutely no visual evidence that your Commander has ever endured such a horrible and painful act."
"Believe me when I say it did happen. I still have nightmares about it sometimes. I was forced to watch as she screamed and still she refused to give them what they wanted. They could not figure out how she managed to survive and not break, giving them the information they so desperately wanted. They were even more surprised when she managed to break her bonds and proceeded to kill each and every one of our tormentors with her bare hands."
"I find that hard to believe also," Lauren responded honestly.
"They did not know that she was a child of the Nano Project," Bruce replied. The Matriarch halted their progress to the crew's quarters upon this new piece of information. Lauren's mind swam as she recalled instantly everything she knew about the Nano Project. "Ma'am?" Bruce questioned upon them stopping.
Lauren turned her surprised and curious eye to the man sitting beside her. "We are just around the corner from your sleeping quarters, but please humour my presence for a little longer."
Bruce nodded, "Very well. You know of the Nano Project."
Lauren nodded in acquiescence, "A little. There was a lot of secrecy surrounding the project and there were so many half truths and lies folded in within the truth that it was hard to decipher what information was true and what was false."
Bruce grunted in response, "Ain't that the truth! The project was highly classified and even I only know what the Commander has graciously shared with me. I know that Bo Dennis was not the name she was born with. I am not sure if she even remembers what her birth name was before she was ripped away from her family and taken to that facility. She has said that she is one of only a handful of subjects that actually managed to fully merge with the nanomites within her. She is as strong as me and twice as fast. The Commander can take considerable amounts of damage and heals substantially faster than normal. She says she does not remember much of her time before the nanomites were introduced into her system. I am afraid that that is all the information I have and I probably shouldn't have told you any of it. If the Commander finds out she will more than likely hang me upside down by my ankles for days."
"I understand and I will try to ensure that she doesn't find out. I will, however, produce another way to dispense the antidote for your Commander."
"She will be suspicious as to why you have gone to so much trouble and that you know about her phobia for needles."
Lauren tapped the Orai on the shoulder to get them moving again. "Let me worry about that, Bruce. Her bark seems worse than her bite. Besides, you were sent here to protect me, so I think I will be reasonably safe from your Commander's wrath."
"If you say so, Matriarch," Bruce replied as he stepped off the hover cart upon arrival. Mackenzie and Vex had already selected their bunks and were putting their belongings away.
Lauren stepped down and engaged her hover disc, "I will take my leave now and will see you all in the infirmary tomorrow."
She zoomed off without waiting for the mumbles of farewell. Lauren's mind was filled with so many questions about the woman that had been sent here by The Elders. The leaders of the alliance either truly did care about her safety after the continued assaults by the pirates and her mishap on the last exploratory mission she had gone on, or they were concerned that she may challenge their imaginary position of power in the galaxy. Either way, she would try to curb her dislike for Commander Bo Dennis, if for nothing else, but to satisfy the burning curiosity that now churned within her to learn more about the Genesis' new visitor.
Author's Note: Thank you for the huge response! Now that you have read another chapter, I sincerely hope that you aren't disappointed and will show me by dropping me a little review. ;)
I would also like you to know that I have been contacted by Club Doccubus about another charity auction coming up next month and I have agreed to participate. This year will be something special though, so get saving to bid. This year Rafi/the sparkling and myself have decided to combine our talents and offer the winning bidder: a doccubus story written by me using the winners idea, plus a cover by my very talented and remarkable girlfriend Rafi/thesparklingblue. (She is responsible for my amazing Dusty Love cover which I am also planning to offer a hi-res copy of that cover to bid on for the auction.) I will give you all more information as it comes about a great opportunity to raise money for a charity in the name of Doccubus!
Reality Love Bites will be next. I try to get a chapter out every week for at least one story, health issues and real life permitting. Enjoy your weekend and take care.
Doccubus21
xoxo