Chapter 11

Sorry I missed June's update. This chapter gave me some trouble. Thanks again to BLANDCorporatio for helping me out with the David stuff. If it weren't for you, I'd have probably missed July's update as well.

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Elizabeth sat beside Olunnhar at the workbench they'd set up in the infirmary, feeling exhausted, hungry, and disheveled. It had been a very long two days, but they were finally close to getting David working again. For a woman with no experience in robotics and an alien who apparently considered their very existence blasphemy, she supposed it was impressive. What it had felt like was long bouts of frustration mixed with moments of utter despair and even rarer moments of faint hope.

It had been difficult for them to even figure out where to begin, at first. Elizabeth had found some supplies for repairing David in a small storage closet just off the infirmary, but with no knowledge of robotics, she didn't know what to do with them. She desperately needed an instruction manual of some sort, and so she and Olunnhar had practically torn the place apart searching for any kind of written material about David or just androids in general.

Surprisingly, it was Olunnhar who had found what they were looking for. He came up to her almost hesitantly, holding an instruction manual the size of a novel, with David's picture on the cover. He'd found it in the drawer of the coffee table and when Elizabeth had taken a look, there had been several charts with diagrams in the drawer as well. She could hardly believe their good luck. Apparently Weyland or Vickers had wanted to be prepared in case David malfunctioned on their watch.

Still, it had been rough going. The manual assumed you were working with an intact and shiny new David, not a severed head full of ripped wires and clotted tubes. Many times, progress came to a screeching halt as she ended up at a loss as to how to continue. Thankfully, Olunnhar had managed to come through during several of those times, using supplies of his own that he'd brought from his ship.

She'd actually recognized some of the things he'd brought from the medical supplies storage room she had been in earlier. Three kinds of strangely colored goo, the blue kind she and Olunnhar had used, a kind that was thick and black and tarry and a thin, reddish liquid that smelled like sour sweat. He'd also brought some of that odd "flesh tape" she'd seen, as well as some more mundane looking wires and tubes…and a little device that reminded her of a cross between a pocket knife and a pen. The slim, metallic tube had several buttons at the top and when one of them was pressed, a little "beam" of what looked like blue electricity came out of the other end. Its shape varied depending on which button was pressed…one made it look like a single beam, another made it into a two pronged "fork," a third made a small "loop." She wondered if it was for repairing wires or something. Something mechanical, anyway. Olunnhar's people may have shunned androids, but they knew their way around all sorts of other complicated machinery. And organic matters too. There were parts of David that seemed almost organic, although Elizabeth didn't know if he contained any biological material or simply simulated it very well. Apparently Olunnhar had had the same thought, which was why he had brought medical supplies along with the mechanical stuff.

And many of them had ended up being very useful. The "laser pen" HAD turned out to very effective at repairing wires and tubes. That foul-smelling red liquid had easily cleaned put David's clogged inner workings. Olunnhar had simply run it through one of David's neck-tubes, and it had quickly moved (seemingly by itself) all through David's system. She'd seen his skin flush a sickly maroon color for a moment, as if the liquid was flowing right underneath, and then a few moments later, she saw the red liquid begin to drip back out, bringing a black substance that smelled like burnt oil, a few white, jellylike "clots" and a couple of thick, pale "threads" with it. Upon closer inspection, the "threads" turned out to be centipede legs, and she shivered, thinking of them crawling around inside David, looking for organic bits to eat. She hoped they hadn't found any. He was already damaged enough.

Once David's head had been cleaned out, the two of them had an easier time working with him. Using the instruction manual and a little creativity, they'd managed make a closed system out of his neck tubes and refill it with fresh "blood" (Elizabeth had found several containers full of the milky substance in the storage closet. They'd puzzled over his wires and circuits, poking and prodding and referencing the manual, trying to get everything connected properly. For a long while, they were rewarded only with an occasional twitch of David's mouth or a brief opening of an eye. Occasionally there would be a soft buzzing and once David actually spoke, just opened his eyes and blurted out "CHOW!" before lapsing back into inactivity again. It all reminded her of the Mala'kak head she and the others had brought back from the caves…and the horrified reaction it had seemed to have to being reanimated. She suddenly wondered if David wasn't actually "unconscious," as she had assumed him to be. Maybe he wasn't able to move, but could still see and hear everything going on. And feel it. Was he even now silently pleading with Olunnhar and her to stop poking and prodding and shocking him. The idea made her sick. As much as she hated David, she didn't want to torture him in such a way.

Still, for all she knew, perhaps leaving him alone would be even crueler. Leaving him aware, but unable to move for as long as it took for his robot brain to fail seemed far more horrifying than being put through the painful process of reanimation. And anyway, the point was moot. She and Olunnhar needed him.

They'd finally gotten everything repaired to the best of their abilities, and then set about getting him recharged. Again, Olunnhar came through, since he'd brought some sort of stand that seemed to double as a battery. He hooked David up to it, used some blue goo to repair his torn neck, and some of the "flesh-tape" to attach David's head to the battery/stand. Now, all they had to do wait for him to recharge. And hope that it worked, of course.

She looked at the charging head on its strange little stand, and sighed. As much as she wanted to finally speak with Olunnhar, as hard as she'd worked to get David t this point, a part of her really didn't want to face the android. After what he'd done to Charlie, and to her, and worse, suspecting it was the result of some creepy obsession with her…it made everything about him so much more vile in retrospect. The smug self-assurance, the false concern…hell, just the thought of that smooth, impeccable voice of his was enough to make her skin crawl.

But…she needed him. So she had to put up with it.

And all at once, Elizabeth suddenly felt so terribly exhausted by all the terrible things she had to put up with, of all the terrible people she needed to put up with…just so she could survive. Her tolerance was close to reaching its limit. And that just annoyed her, especially after she and Olunnhar had gone though so much trouble to get to this point.

Beside her, Olunnhar yawned, and Elizabeth couldn't help copying him. It was late. Although she didn't know how long David needed to charge, even if it was only a short time, there was nothing that said they had to talk to him the second he was operational.

"Let's call it a night," she said to her sleepy companion. Olunnhar looked at her, then looked back at David's charging head as though she'd said something about it. Poor thing was too tired to even try to figure out what she was saying.

"We should eat and sleep," she told him, miming eating food with a fork and then placing her folded hands against her cheek and miming falling asleep. He seemed to understand this time, and gave her a tired smile as he got to his feet. He let her lead the way, though, following along hesitantly as though he weren't quite sure if he was allowed back in the living area or not.

Elizabeth gave him a warm smile to show it was all right, then went inside and started working on supper. She chose a large can of freeze dried ravioli because it was simple and easy to eat, and then, as a special treat because they'd earned it, she made two pitchers of lemonade from a powdered drink mix. She gave one pitcher to Olunnhar, along with a straw, since it seemed easier for him than refilling the same glass over and over. She took a sip herself first, to show him how to use the straw, but he nodded quickly and knowingly and took the pitcher and straw eagerly from her. She supposed that meant Mala'kak drank from straws, at least sometimes, like humans did. She chuckled inwardly, wondering if she should start making a list of all the similarities she'd found between their two species

Olunnhar didn't seem to like the lemonade much, but Elizabeth was too tired to make anything else and decided he would just have to tough it out this time. The ravioli was a hit though, and a silence fell over the two of them as they quickly wolfed down their supper.

Thankfully, it wasn't an awkward silence. She'd managed to put aside most of her anger toward what Olunnhar had done for the sake of the task they needed to complete. And, although she knew it was wrong, she was relieved. Everything had just gotten so complicated, so unpleasant, so downright dreary that she just…craved being on friendly terms with him again. She was just so terribly lonely and tired and…

And tomorrow she would have her answers and she wouldn't be able to hide behind the language barrier any longer. They were going to have to address what he'd done to her, and she doubted it was going to end with the two of them holding hands and singing a duet. Maybe they would reconcile, but it would probably be…..complicated. And complicated meant lonely.

Of course, she would also have a new person to talk to, come tomorrow, but the thought did little to cheer her. Charlie's killer certainly wasn't going to be any better company than-

"Leezabet?"

She looked up with a start to see Olunnhar standing over her, looking equal parts hesitant and worried. "Huh?" she said stupidly, too startled for a more dignified response.

The couch creaked loudly as he sat down beside her. "Leezabet?" he said again, and this time the nervousness had been completely replaced by concern.

"I'm fine," she told him, although she didn't feel like putting in the effort to produce some fake cheer. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

He hesitated again, clearly not understanding and clearly still worried. He reached out and covered one of her hands with his own. She flinched slightly, wanting the contact and knowing she shouldn't. She sighed. Everything was complicated now.

Olunnhar took his hand away and she looked up to see genuine sadness in his dark eyes, as if her reaction had stung. "No, no, it's all right," she told him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "I…I know you're just trying to help. It's all right," she said again, keeping her voice soothing as she gave his arm a little pat.

His expression didn't lighten. Instead, sadness was replaced by guilt. "Leezabet…" he said quietly, his gaze dropping from her own. Then he said something else, something that sounded surprisingly tender in his harsh language.

When she didn't reply, he said it again, a bit more earnestly this time. Was it an apology, maybe? Or was he just expressing more concern for her? She had no idea, and didn't really know how to react regardless of the answer. All she could do was pat him on the arm again. She did appreciate that he cared, at least.

He touched her arm in response, then reached up and slid a hand though her hair. His worried expression had not lightened.

"I know, I know," she said softly, not even sure what she really meant. "I'm just…I…I…"

He moved his hand from her hair to her shoulder and leaned a bit closer. His other hand moved to the small of her back. She realized that he wanted to put his arms around her, but was hesitant to do so without her permission.

She realized she wanted to give him permission.

And she knew she shouldn't, knew she shouldn't want this, knew she shouldn't give in to this, but…

But…there was time for all that tomorrow. Sorting everything out, addressing what needed to be addressed, finding the right way to deal with all of it. It was going to be a mess, it was going to be a headache, it was going to be a trial. That was all but certain.

Was it really so wrong to want one evening of solace before the two of them went through all that? Couldn't they forget about all of it for a little while, and just be friends again?

Would it be so awful?

"Leezabet…" Olunnhar whispered again, as he finally slipped his arms around her and suddenly it wasn't so awful at all.

She sagged against him, collapsed into his embrace, and she felt his arms tighten around her, and his head come to rest against hers as he buried his face in her hair. He didn't pick her up and place her in his lap, like he had the last time they had cuddled, but simply sat beside her and held her close to him, the way she and Charlie had sometimes done while sitting beside one another on the couch on the evenings, or watching TV in bed. The thought made her miss Charlie terribly, but at the same time, she was being held and it was warm and safe and she felt loved and it would do.

At least for tonight.

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She awoke at first light the next morning, curled up next to Olunnhar. He'd somehow managed to cram his huge frame onto the couch beside her, and was sleeping with one arm curled loosely around her. She couldn't help smiling at him, and the tenderness of the gesture.

She gave his arm a gentle shake, and he snorted softly and shifted position slightly before resuming his slumber. She giggled inwardly, and shook him a bit harder.

"Olunnhar!" she hissed, although she didn't really know why she was whispering, since it was only the two of them. "Time to get up!"

He grunted and mumbled a few words of sleepy gibberish before cracking one eye open. He smiled when he saw her beside him.

"Leezabet," he said warmly.

"Good morning, Sleepyhead," she said replied. On a whim, she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his forehead before sitting up and hopping off the couch. She heard him chuckle behind her and she smiled. She probably shouldn't be acting so affectionate toward him, but after snuggling with him last night she was feeling too fond of him to even attempt acting careful and distant.

Anyway, maybe things would turn out all right. She'd been dwelling on the worst possible scenario, but there was no guarantee things would turn out that way. Perhaps finally being able to talk to one another would help them repair their friendship much more quickly, and leave them closer as a result.

She actually felt a touch excited along with all her nervousness, and she had to fight the urge not to go scampering down the hall and into the infirmary to see if David was operational yet. After all, if he was, she didn't want him to see her looking all disheveled and wearing mismatched clothing. So she forced herself to neaten up her appearance and put on some different clothes while Olunnhar helped himself to the leftover ravioli from the night before.

The outfit she chose was almost frumpy looking, as she had to admit she felt much more uncomfortable around David now that she knew about his obsession with her. She didn't like the idea of him looking at her body, even though she knew he could no longer hurt her. He'd done it enough.

Olunnhar was just finishing up the last of the ravioli when Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom. He looked a bit guilty, as if he thought she'd scold him for not leaving her any breakfast, but she was too nervous/excited to feel hungry and so she let the matter drop.

Her necklace was still on the table beside the couch, and, after a slight hesitation, Elizabeth picked it up and put it around her neck. She supposed it was childish to want David to see it, to know she'd gotten it back from him, but at the same time, she had felt so violated by what she'd learned about him that showing him she'd "beaten" him in this particular matter helped instill some confidence in her, and she knew she was going to need that. She wished she could put on Charlie's ring too, but that was missing, along with everything else she'd been wearing when Olunnhar had removed her suit the first time, and she'd sadly accepted that it was probably lost.

"Shall we?" she asked Olunnhar, gesturing toward the door. He understood right away, nodding almost eagerly and getting up to join her. Together, they headed down the short hallway to the infirmary.

Elizabeth peeked her head around the doorframe and looked inside. David's head was where they had left it, on its stand, with its eyes still closed. She felt a twinge of disappointment, but reminded herself that closed eyes didn't necessarily mean David was still non-operational. With no nearby stimulus, his head may have gone into some sort of sleep mode.

Quietly, she crept into the room, Olunnhar close behind her. She approached the head, but it still did not stir.

"David?" she asked hesitantly.

No response.

"David?" she said again, louder this time. She leaned in closer to the head, trying to see if she could spot any movement at all, like a faint twitch of an eye lid or a slight movement of the mouth, but there was nothing.

Gently, she reached out to touch the android's cheek, to feel for movement, or the humming of working electronics…and his eyes sprang open.

It startled her so badly she let out a shriek and jumped back, crashing into Olunnhar, which thankfully kept her from falling over backwards. She felt Olunnhar's hand on her shoulder, steadying her, and heard him say something in his booming gibberish. Most likely he was asking if she was all right. However she ignored him, all her attention focused on David's head.

"David!" she said, as she watched his eyes sluggishly attempt to focus on her. "Can you hear me?"

"Elizabeth," came his familiar voice, cold but impeccably polite. There was a slight growl underneath it, a distortion brought on by either the head's violent detachment or their shoddy repair job, but thankfully it didn't interfere with understanding him. "I see you are alive and well. And have resolved your conflict with the Engineer." His eyes, still sluggish but a bit faster than before, glanced up at Olunnhar, then focused back on her. "I feared for your safety."

Yeah, I bet you did. Who else would you watch sleep if I were dead? She kept her thoughts to herself though, and did her best to keep her expression neutral as well. As much as she wanted to rip into David for what he'd done, she needed to be polite so he'd stay cooperative. "I'm fine," she told him instead. "And yes, Olunnhar and I have…" She paused. What could she call it exactly? Become friends? Reached an understanding? Decided to pursue a mutually beneficial course of action? They all sounded misleading or foolish.

"We've called a truce," she finally decided on. "He doesn't want to kill me anymore and I still want to talk with him. But we need a translator. That's why we repaired you."

"I see," David said. "I trust that means he isn't planning on damaging me again should I say something he doesn't particularly like?" She could have sworn she heard a hint of annoyance in David's polite growling. She supposed she couldn't really blame the android for it. He had every right to be annoyed with and suspicious of Olunnhar after what the Mala'kak had done to him.

"No, he won't hurt you again," Elizabeth said, with more confidence than she felt. "He wants to talk to me just as much as I want to talk to him. He's the one who brought you back here, after all. Besides, repairing you wasn't easy for either of us. I doubt he'd want to undo all that work." If he did, she might have to fight off the urge to punch him in the nose.

"I see," David said again. "How long have I been non-operational? My internal time-keeping program is offline."

"About five days," Elizabeth told him. "Maybe a day or two more. I was unconscious for a while. I don't know how long." Quickly, she gave David an overview of the events that had happened since they'd last communicated, although she kept out the parts about her and Olunnhar's emotional issues. She told him about rescuing Olunnhar from the squid-monster, Olunnhar treating her injuries, the peaceful relationship they had developed, following Olunnhar to his ship, the centipede attack, Olunnhar's attack on her, healing their wounds with the blue goo, being unable to properly reconcile afterwards, Olunnhar's going back and fetching David's head, and their attempts at repairing him. David listened without interrupting and Olunnhar remained quiet as well, seemingly content to let Elizabeth do the talking.

"We're sorry if we messed up any of your systems," Elizabeth finished. "Neither of us knows anything about androids. I'm surprised we got you working at all."

"Your assistance is most appreciated," David replied. "I will address your translation needs to the best of my abilities."

Elizabeth blinked. That was it? He didn't have anything else to say? Just right down to business? True, he'd been non-operational most of this time, but still…things had happened before that. Olunnhar had torn him apart, his "father" and "sister" were dead, the entire mission had turned into a disaster, leaving him stranded on an alien moon, he knew that Elizabeth knew what he'd done and was probably furious with him…" Any of those things seemed like they would warrant a comment or two, and yet, he was all business. Strong programming, she supposed. Even with his circuitry damaged and his master dead, he still put following orders above everything else. She was suddenly very glad their crude repair job had managed to leave that bit of programming intact.

"What questions do you have, Elizabeth?" David prompted.

Why did you kill Charlie? But of course, she couldn't ask that. Not yet, anyway. Not if she actually wanted to have a productive discussion with Olunnhar. Instead, she looked at Olunnhar, who was staring at David with an expression somewhere between boredom and contempt. She had a million questions for him. And yet now, with the answers finally in reach, she didn't even know where to start.

She finally decided to start with the question that weighed most heavily on her mind. "I want to know why he tried to kill me," she told David. "The second time, I mean. In his ship."

David was silent for a moment, and she saw his pupils contract and expand irregularly, and one eyelid droop, as if his translation program was diverting power from his other functions. Finally, he looked at Olunnhar and spoke in the harsh language of the Mala'kak. It was oddly unsuited to his smooth and polite way of speaking.

Olunnhar listened, and when David finished, he looked over at Elizabeth with slight apprehension. Then he dropped his eyes to look at the table and for a moment, Elizabeth was afraid he wasn't going to answer. But finally he spoke, a few short sentences that David then translated for her.

"He says that to answer that question, he would have to go into the history between your species and his own. He is unsure if you are ready to hear it."

"Tell him I am," Elizabeth replied. And she was. It was time to get all this out in the open.

David translated this, and then Olunnhar spoke. He talked at length, with David listening carefully. When he finally finished, David translated for her.

"He says that his species has created life in many places. The creation of life is considered the most sacred act his people can perform, and those who create life are highly honored."

Elizabeth wanted to ask why this was so, why the Mala'kak were so concerned with creating new species and what their ultimate goal for doing so was, but David was still talking, so she forced herself to listen. She could ask more questions later.

"He says that creation can also be a very dangerous act, for it is possible to create imperfect forms of life, life that does not respect its own existence, let alone the existence of its creators. This imperfect life can become a threat to all other life in the galaxy. Such failed creations must be culled before they can become a danger to others. He was a member of a branch of his people's military that was specifically tasked with carrying out this culling."

"And we were one of the species they decided to cull?" Elizabeth said, sounding a bit more sulky than she meant to. She wasn't really surprised at this revelation, but it still brought the old feelings of rejection to the surface again.

"Correct," David told her, after Olunnhar spoke again. "He says that the decision was not undertaken lightly. All creations are precious, and culling them is only performed with the greatest of reluctance. However, your species had not only grown increasingly violent, but was beginning to consolidate its power. From his description of the civilization, I believe he may be referring to the Roman Empire."

Elizabeth nodded, her heart in her throat, as Olunnhar spoke to David once again. The Engineer looked terribly sad, and he wouldn't look at her. That made her feel more nervous, but all she could do was wait patiently for David's translation.

Finally, David spoke once again. "He says that with the increasing power and violence of this civilization, things became unsafe for the emissaries his people had among your own, and eventually, they were forced to flee. It was then that the Elders of his species made their decision that your species must be culled."

"However, there was one of his people who could not abide by this decision. He felt that your people, while violent, were also capable of great good and could be moved to great works. This quality of yours distinguished your people from many of the other created kinds, and he argued for your survival. A talented and charismatic speaker, he convinced the Elders to give your people one last chance. In return, he himself would be the final emissary sent to your people, to try and set them on the proper path once more.

"And we didn't listen to him?" Elizabeth said miserably.

"You crucified him."

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Don't blame me, blame Ridley Scott :P