Kale had sat on the bed to go to sleep but couldn't calm down enough to do it. His adrenaline was still pumping from the fight he got into and his cheek was still aching from where he had been struck. He stood up and looked out the window, it was strange to see nothing but distant stars, he wondered how far from Earth they had really gotten. When the others left, they had left the rifle rested against the wall by the door. Kale walked to it and picked it up looking it over. He had hoped it didn't take any damage when it hit the floor. He checked the power and was able to get it turn on and power up. He aimed down the sight and everything seemed to be in order when Kershala and Atondra walked through the door followed by the AI core.
"Everything okay?" he asked lowering the weapon.
"Yes Kale, Atondra is going to take us to her ship. Some of her officers are going to come and pilot this ship to the Typhonus."
"That's good, I'm glad we found more of your people."
"So am I." Kershala looked at Atondra and spoke something in Daoran. She tapped part of her armor like he had seen the younger Daoran do triggering the teleporter.
"Damn it, that means we have to teleport doesn't it?" asked Kale thinking about how he had felt after the last time.
"Daoran teleporters are a little less pervasive than the one this ship uses." Kershala smiled as he spoke. He leaned in and kissed Kale on the cheek.
"They aren't gonna have any problem with me, are they?" he asked. "I did fight one of them."
"I will make sure they do not have a problem." Kershala turned to Anubis and pulled Kale in closer to him. "Tell them we are ready." Anubis stayed quiet but Kale started to feel the buzzing on his body again. He turned to look at Kershala who smiled back at him as they were pulled from the ship.
Kale felt his feet hit back on solid ground as he rematerialized. He hadn't had quite the same reaction as before, this time he didn't feel the need to throw up only feeling slightly dizzy. Kershala had been teleported a few feet from him on another pad and no sooner had he opened his eyes but two Daoran's had rushed him forcing him to bend forward.
"Kershala what's going on?" he panicked. He felt them press something to base of his skull and suddenly there was an immense pain. He cried out in pain and Kershala was at his side as he fell to the ground.
"He will be okay the pain will subside in a few minutes." A muffled voice spoke from somewhere in front of him. He felt Kershala's hand on his back and looked back at him through tears in his eyes. He had never felt a pain so intense before, it was like someone running a knife down his spine. He could feel something tightening at the pressure point.
"Oh my god that's painful, what they hell did they do to me?" Kale felt a hand on his face someone forced him to look at them. They shone a bright light in his face.
"Follow the light," a female voice spoke. Kale did what he was told as the person swayed light back and forth a few times. Kale got a glimpse of a young women behind the light. The pain stopped as she was swaying the light when he realized he could understand her. "He'll be fine. It's not even hurting anymore is it?" She smiled and stood up. Kale rubbed the back of his neck.
"Why can I understand you?"
"I'll answer both of your questions," said the same women who shone the light in his face. The other person was running a device over Kale's body, it was the same individual that spoke to Kershala first on the ship. "We inserted a bio-connective translation matrix into your neck. We downloaded the language syntax from the AI for you and it already understands most languages that the Daoran people have encountered during our travels."
"Just call it a universal translator," said Kale recalling every science fiction he'd ever seen.
"How do you feel?" asked Kershala. As the two of them got to their feet.
"It seems as though it is working as expected but we should keep an eye on it for the next few days." Lenari took a step back and smiled at Kershala as he closed his scanning device.
"I'm okay, you were right, the teleporter was different I don't feel sick."
"Sick?" said the women.
"His people don't have teleporter technology, this was only his second time in one," explained Kershala.
"Yes. Human, I recognized the bio-scans. My grand matriarch was one of the researchers that took interest in them before the war started," she explained. "My name is Elara I am the ships primary medical officer. Atondra wants you both to report for a physical before we allow you to free roam the ship. Follow me." Kale looked at Kershala who began to follow her as she walked away. Kale followed, Anubis stayed quiet and hovered alongside Kershala as they walked. The Daoran ship was very different than the Arktora. The ship was well lit and colored in bright white color scheme, Kale could see computers and circuitry running along the walls as they walked. The corridors were not as tall only being a couple of feet above their heads. There were no others present as they moved down the corridor, Lenari followed behind them and one other. They had exchanged their body suits for very militaristic uniforms, Elara's was grey with a violet metal crest on the arm as was Lenari's, though the crest was an off purple less than violet. The man following them still wore a type of body suit with similar coloring to Kershala's nanite suit, though it gave no indication that it was nanite based. They turned into a lab, that was clearly a medical lab. There were a couple of cots with medical equipment set up above them and computer systems lined the walls. They seemed to be displaying scans of several life forms, but Kale recognized at least one of them was displaying a human skeletal structure. Elara looked at him and gestured him to one of the terminals along the wall. "Lenari tells me you took a good hit to the face in your scuffle, we can get a better idea of what's damaged with this terminal."
"Alright what do I need to do?" he asked as he stepped up to the terminal. A green pulse activated from the machine as he stepped into place.
"Just be still. It works quickly." Kale did as he was told and stood still in the machine, about ten seconds later and a holographic image generated above the terminal. Elara ran her hand through it, and it disappeared. Kale turned around and looked at her as she thrust her hand forward and suddenly the same image was enlarged and projected into the middle of the room. She stepped up to it. "No major damage. Lenari configure one of the bio regenerators based on your scans and pass it over his face, that should fix it." Elara took a step closer to the image and enlarged the scan of his head, she passed her hand through it removing the dermal layer and then the muscular and skeletal layers. "Your species has a beautiful brain, Kale."
"Um, thank you I guess." Kale looked over at her as she examined the holographic image. Lenari stepped over to him and held up a small tool to his face.
"I guess it's only fitting I should be fixing your wound given I caused it," he said, Kale could hear remorse in his voice.
"It's not like I didn't try to hit you, all's forgiven." Kale smiled at him, by looking he guessed Lenari couldn't be much more than twenty years old. His bright young features were a great deal gentler than Kershala's likely due to a less stressful upbringing. Lenari's face lit up with a smile and Kale could tell the young man was holding back an urge to hug him. "Go ahead, I know what Daoran's are like." Kale laughed as the young man put his arms around him, Kale gave him a hardy hug back and a pat on the back. Kershala looked over at them and smiled. "Hey, I've learned a few things from you." Lenari pulled from him and passed the device over his wound and Kale could feel it being manipulated.
"That is true," said Kershala.
"Kale, are there any members of your species that can manipulate dark energy?" Elara interrupted.
"Um, what's dark energy?" he asked confused.
"Certain centers of your brain suggest you should be able to do so. Let me rephrase, can any of your species move things with their mind?" she asked.
"Oh, um, nothing that's ever been proven with absolute certainty. Your technology can pick that up?"
"It is a very detailed scan." Elara passed a hand through the image again and it vanished. "I would like to do more scans on you later if time allows for it."
"Maybe." Lenari passed the device over his wound one final time and the wound was healed. Kale no longer felt the discomfort.
"The scan shows nothing we should be worried about. As a precaution though, I would like for you to receive a couple of vaccinations. The Typhonus has been a closed environment for a very long time and we can't have any unfamiliar microbes being introduced to the biosphere."
"Have you taken enough scans of his physiology to know how his immune system will respond?" asked Kershala concerned. "From what I have seen and the scans I have taken, humans are very different internally than Daorans."
"I can see that as well. I will formulate them on the trip back myself and administer them. I will get physiology data from the biological integration system."
"Whatever you need to do as long as it doesn't break anything," said Kale, "Or kill me."
"Alright Kershala, you are next. Your bio scans are very exciting for me. Am I correct in assuming you carry with you the nanites that Yailar's family created?" Elara beckoned Kershala to one of the other terminals.
"Yes, I have an entire armory worth of nanites, but they have been in a weakened state since my fight with the Arktora." At the mere mention of the word Kale could see the expression on Elara's face change. "They are barely able to repair my wounds." Kershala stepped up to the terminal and turned around seemingly knowing what to do.
"Most of the nanites are barely functional from constant over use," said Anubis. The AI core hovered over to the machine Kershala was linked to and scanned the terminal.
"I have extensive experience with our nanotechnology." Elara walked over to a table with an array of tools on it and snapped a device on to her wrist. "We will repair your wounds and your nanites." She stood in front of Kershala and put the device up next to his head. "This will be slightly uncomfortable please ignore the sensation to recall the nanites with your implant." Kershala nodded and closed his eyes. The device on Elara's wrist began to glow and the nanites began funnelling from all over Kershala's body. His breathing became erratic as he seemingly let go of control of the nanites. Kale walked over to him and took his hand, he opened his eyes and looked at him. His breathing calming slightly. The nanites were fully extracted from Kershala's body and were levitating around the device on Elara's wrist almost swarming like tiny bees. "Oh, you poor little fighters, you've certainly been through a lot." Elara walked over to a glass chamber on the wall and pushed her hand in through a hole. It reminded Kale of a radiation chamber but without the guard liner. "You should find what you need in here." Elara locked the entry port around her arm and the nanites seem to be drawn to the glass. "This chamber draws energy directly from the engine core. It will recharge them in no time at all. It's been a long time since I've seen nanites as fine as these. The ones we use are several generations behind yours." Lenari walked over to Kershala and activated the scanner in the terminal.
"Don't mind her," he whispered, "She's a little obsessed with nanites. Especially the combat variety." Kale smiled as he watched Lenari take the scan of Kershala's body and bring it to the center like Elara had done with his. "What did that thing do to you? You have so many wounds across the whole left side of your body." The image outlined all the spots that the shrapnel had hit Kershala.
"It was an explosion. It happened just before we left earth," said Kale.
"It looks so painful."
"I will be grateful when they are fixed," Kershala breathed. Lenari took a tool from beside the terminal and activated it. The scan they had taken was pulled into the tool and Lenari attached it to an arm hanging from the ceiling over the terminal. He pushed it into position and tapped in a sequence.
"Hold very still, this will be quick and very painless." The device activated and a small beam began to fire at the places Kershala had been wounded Kale could see the wounds that they had painstakingly pulled shrapnel from, closing as it connected.
"Don't you guys use medical nanites for all this?" asked Kale.
"Most of the nanites we had access to aren't self replicating like the ones Kershala's suit uses," explained Elara as she walked away from the chamber. "They proved far too costly to maintain without a reliable source of raw materials. This is why these particular nanites are so special." Most of the equipment you see here is self powered and needs very little maintenance to keep it operating. It is old by Daoran standards, but it is more reliable than some of our nano technology." The beam stopped firing and the arm repositioned itself back above the terminal signalling that Kershala's wounds were healed. He stepped out of the terminal, the scar on his face was still present but the rest of the wounds had disappeared along with any trace of them.
"Feel better?" asked Kale.
"I can no longer feel the discomfort of the shrapnel," said Kershala, "but there is a part of me that feels disconnected, with the nanites being absent." Kershala walked over to the containment chamber and put his hand to the glass. The nanites swarmed to where his hand was touching. "I have not seen one of these chambers for a very long time. I can already feel that they have regained sixty percent of their functionality."
"We do not get to use it very often these days." Elara walked up beside him and rested an arm on his shoulder. "They should be ready very shortly." Anubis moved to be floating in front of Elara.
"Excuse me Elara, but I have not been able to determine if there is a qualified individual aboard this vessel to repair my secondary processors. Do you have anyone aboard capable of performing this task?"
"I'm afraid there would be no one here who would be familiar with your schematics enough to perform repairs. We likely have the tools for it here in the medical lab. The boarding report said Kershala was repairing you when we went aboard the Arktora's vessel." Elara walked to one of the cots and pushed a button causing an entire holographic display to light up. "This surgical bed will likely have everything you need. Instead of straining your implant you can take an imaging scan of the core and use that to operate as needed."
"Thank you, Elara," said Anubis, "Kershala I suggest we begin after you've rested. I am detecting that your body is starting to show signs of exhaustion."
"The physical came back fine other than the wounds," said Lenari.
"Your equipment does not have the same connection as I share with Kershala."
"I've been exhausted for a few hours now, not gonna lie," said Kale making a mental note of the fact that he hadn't gotten any sleep yet.
"I agree we will begin tomorrow," said Kershala walking over to surgical bed and examining the interface. Kale turned at the sound of the door to the lab and Atondra stepped in.
"I assume that everything has gone the way we expected," she said.
"Yes Atondra, the only concern is that the human must be vaccinated before boarding the Typhonus, he carries some foreign microbial bodies that could potentially cause concern," explained Elara.
"Kale, it is nice to be able to talk with you. I hope you didn't find the translator to invasive. I've heard they can be painful." Atondra walked over to Kale with a welcoming smile on her face.
"Once the pain calmed down it was okay. A little warning would have been nice, but it was necessary. We're going to need to be able to communicate if I'm going to be around here for awhile." Kale rubbed the back of his neck recalling the pain he had felt. Now there was no trace that they had even injected anything, he expected to find a welt or something at the injection site. "I'm glad to meet you."
"And I, you. I have seen several of Kershala's memories, you are prevalent in many of them. Had it not been for you, he may not have come out of his grief."
"I did what I could," said Kale, "Though I didn't really understand his grief until he joined with me the first time. I'd never felt anything like it." Kershala walked over to them with a somber look on his face.
"Joined? You mean Jadak'tora," she asked.
"Yes, I did not know how to show Kale my true experience… for him to understand the weight of the emotions I was feeling at my family's loss," explained Kershala. "There was no other way for me to convey to him the scale of Daoran emotion."
"It is not common for us to perform Jadak'tora with other species," Atondra reached out and touched each of their arms. "Not many others are able to receive it as we can."
"That's that beautiful human brain at work again!" Elara called from the other side of the lab.
"It wasn't easy," laughed Kale, "But we've joined several times since then, each time it gets easier." Atondra raised her eyebrows surprised at the statement.
"That is how I taught Kale to fight in our combat styles." The AI hovered over to them and placed itself in the middle of their conversation.
"Atondra, my apologies but Kershala must rest now that he has the chance, it has been a particularly strenuous day," it said.
"Of course, my apologies for keeping you, Kershala. We will arrive at the Typhonus in approximately twelve hours, I look forward to speaking with you after you've rested," said Atondra briefly pulling Kershala into a hug. Elara walked up to Kale and pushed something to his arm, quickly pulling a blood sample.
"For the vaccines," she smiled and walked back to one of the terminals.
"Elara do you require Lenari's assistance?" asked Atondra. This caused Lenari to stop what he had been working on and put the tool on a nearby counter.
"Not until I begin formulating a vaccine," she answered.
"Ah wonderful, Lenari I would like you to show Kershala where he and Kale will be staying. Take them to the secondary forward quarters," Atondra ordered. Lenari walked up to them and smiled before gesturing toward the door.
"My pleasure, if you could come this way Kershala, Kale?" They walked through the automated door to the lab and were out into the corridors again. Lenari led them to a room at the front of the small scout ship. They walked in through another set of automated doors. The room was beautiful directly ahead there was a massive viewing window that ran the length of the room, they could see that they were travelling at FTL speeds already on their way back to the city ship. On the right side of the room there was a large bed and on the left a terminal in the wall and a sitting area as well as a cleaning station. "It's pretty crazy for Atondra to put you in this room, it's usually reserved for the elders when they travel with us."
"Thank you for showing us the way," said Kershala.
"You are very welcome, Kershala. I am greatly looking forward to getting to know both of you and calling you friends," he explained. Kale walked to the center of the room and look around, hardly able to believe how lucky they had been to be found so quickly. "I will leave you to yourselves. If you need anything, the AI can send for me." Lenari smiled before making his way back out into the corridor. Kershala followed him in as the AI core took up a spot on the table, the automated door closed behind them, finally giving them some privacy.
"Looks like you've got a fan," Kale smiled at Kershala.
"He is very inexperienced I sense."
"He's young too. Cute little brother type." Kale walked over and sat down on the bed laying back on it. Kershala walked over and sat down beside him following his lead in laying back. Kale rolled over on his side. "I could get used to this." Kale reached out and touched Kershala's face their gazes met and they moved into a kiss. The warmth of Kershala's lips pressed against his own made Kale feel a good deal better, he slowly pulled back. "I was scared that we'd have to hide this from all of them," he whispered.
"Interspecies relations do not happen often, but most Daoran's have no issue with it. Some traditionalists may give pause." Kershala moved into another kiss and brought his hand up to Kale's face, the kiss got a good deal more passionate, Kershala's emotional intensity impacting their situation. "I would like to feel you again soon…" Kershala suddenly became bashful and looked away.
"I love you…" Kale slowly repositioned himself to be laying back on the pillows of the bed Kershala following his lead. "Little spoon." Kershala smiled at him before turning around and Kale wrapped his arm around him.
"I love you too." Kershala took Kale's hand and they laid together briefly before drifting off to sleep.