I had been standing in the mess for over an hour, taking everything in, still in shock that I was actually in space even though every time I walked down the hall to one of the rec rooms and looked out the windows there they were, the massive amount of stars staring right back at me. I was in the starboard room for the third time, my jaw on the floor as I wrapped my arms around myself.
"Impressive, isn't it?" That familiar deep voice caressed my ear from the doorway. I smiled and rolled my eyes, wondering why I was still surprised he affected me so with those big blue eyes.
"It is," I responded, turning to face him with the same smile. "As are a great many things on this ship." His smile broadened as I realized how what I had said might have been taken. I laughed, shaking my head. "It's also impressive that your ego and I can fit inside such a small room." He barked out a laugh, walking toward me.
"Ego, huh?" His reply was low, his voice husky. He was so close I could see the gold flecks in his eyes. "I left that behind when I joined the N7 program. No room for that."
He reached up and touched the back of his fingers to my forehead, surprising me so I took a step back. My eyes must have shown fear because John's hands went up in the air in surrender. "I wasn't getting fresh, just checking your temp. Your face is a little flushed, are you feeling alright?" I felt like an idiot and sighed, looking at the floor.
"It's just a slight fever," I insisted, "if it gets out of control I'll go to the med bay, but really, I'm ok." I looked up at him to see that smile gone, his eyes full of concern.
"Would you take offense if I pulled rank and escorted you there?" he asked, taking one of my hands in his. "It would at least make me feel better, please." I wanted to protest but the words were lost on my lips. Instead, I shrugged and squeezed his hand.
"Alright," I said, "as long as you will leave me be afterward." I gave him a wink as he directed me toward the doorway. He chuckled.
"Promise."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Honestly I'm not sure why you have a fever, Miss Martin," Dr. Chakwas said as she stared down at her notes and shook her head.
"Please Doc, call me Kayla," I insisted, "and don't worry. You aren't the only one." I dared to glance at John who was looking all but relieved. Sitting up on the gurney with my feet swinging freely I gave him a gentle nudge with my foot and winked when I had his attention. "It's only 100.1 degrees Fahrenheit, correct?"
"Yes, it's not dangerous but the puzzle is going to kill me," Dr. Chakwas said thoughtfully, tapping her stylus to her head. "I would swear you'd had a transplant of some sort, are you sure you have all your original parts?" She pulled my hair away from my face looking for what I could only assume would be incision scars.
"No, Doc, no transplants." She moved around behind me, combing through my hair slowly, examining my scalp. I giggled. "Whatcha looking for back there?"
"Your implant scar," she said softly, still inspecting a small area thoroughly. "I can't find it, how old were you when you got it?" I laughed.
"What implant?" I asked, looking at John with a 'what the heck is she talking about' look but his eyes were suddenly guarded. I instantly pulled my impassive mask over my face and waited for the response. The Doc stopped her search and came back in front of me to face me.
"Either you are playing with me or you lied on your medical background when you applied to Cerberus," she said, tapping her screen a few times then presenting the pad to me. I read through a few lines then saw 'Biotic with Implant' and the Yes box checked. Shit.
"Or, and this is more likely," John interjected, "she is not who she says she is." He motioned to some men standing outside in the mess hall who then came into the med bay. "Stay here, keep her here, I'll be back." Somehow I held my mask. Oh fuck.
"Sheppard," Chakwas put a hand on his arm to stop him, "you said that Jacob and Miranda both knew Kayla, that her involvement in the attack was the only thing about her they questioned. Why would they not question who she is if it were a possibility?" Ok, I thought, time to come clean.
As clean as possible without disobeying orders anyway.
"Commander," I said, pulling everyone's attention back to me. "Could you please bring Miranda in here and the four of us can discuss this? I think I may have a solution to the puzzle." I stared into his eyes, those beautiful, expressive eyes that used to look at me with compassion and kindness.
Right then they looked like spears.
John turned to one of the guards and gesture toward Miranda's office, the guard nodded and left. The other waited to be dismissed then returned to the mess, still watching the going's on in the med bay.
I looked at Doctor Chakwas who was glaring at me as if her eyes were an x-ray machine.
"I promise, Doc, I will tell you all everything I can when Miranda gets here," I said as I put a hand over my heart, "I'm just not up for repeating myself, actually feeling a little weak right now." I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. I heard the door to the med bay open and looked up to see Miranda. John dismissed the guard and turned to face me.
"Apparently Doctor Martin has something she wants to confess," he said, crossing his muscled arms over his chest. The look he was giving me was uncomfortable to say the least; I could see this was the Commander Sheppard I was in the presence of at the moment. I swallowed and took a breath.
"I will tell you all as much as I can," I said, looking around the room. "First I will admit that I am not Doctor Kayla Martin. Not mentally anyway." I stopped, wondering where the hell to go from there without revealing too much when Miranda got in my face.
"I knew you were lying about something," she growled, glaring into my eyes. I held my mask and kept my tone level.
"Brilliant observation," I replied and turned to look at John, "anyway I work for a government agency on Earth that I need to report back to as soon as possible."
I felt a hand crack across my cheek so I instinctively grabbed Miranda by her throat, flipping us around to pin her on the gurney. Her hands came up to grab the one that had her pinned but my other hand was too fast, grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her head then jumping on top of her to straddle her. Hooking my ankles under her knees, she was completely helpless. Nose to nose, she spat in my face.
"Fucking traitor," she hissed, "if you think I'm going to just let you go to report back to whomever you claim to work for about Cerberus activities you are-"
"I don't give a fuck about Cerberus activities," I growled, looking her dead in the eye. I huffed out a small laugh, shaking my head at her. "This is so much bigger than your little resuscitation project, you have no idea what is looking you in the eye right now…" I stopped myself, clamping my lips between my teeth to prevent any more details spilling forth. Inhaling deeply through my nose, I closed my eyes and slowly released her throat, then her hands as I jumped off the gurney.
I looked around the room and noticed that both Doc's and John's jaws were on the floor. Well this didn't go as planned, damn you Miranda.
"As I was saying," I continued as I approached John whose eyes were showing an obvious state of shock. Unable to stop myself, I put a hand on his arm and softened my expression. "I need to get back to Earth, is that possible?" I turned to look at Miranda again, who had sat up on the gurney and was currently rubbing her throat. "I will divulge nothing of Cerberus activities or any details that I picked up while there, you have my word." She just glared at me so I closed my eyes and sighed. "Believe me, they will not even ask after I report in. That will be the last thing that will attract their attention."
"What is it about you that they will find so much more interesting than Cerberus?" Doc spoke up, obviously trying to keep the mayhem to a minimum. I gave her a small smile.
"It's like I said, Doc," I replied as I shrugged my shoulders, tapping my head at the temple, "this mind is not Kayla Martin… but the body is hers."