Star Force: Lost Destiny (Wayward Trilogy Book 1) Page 25

  “Can you walk?” Rammak asked her.

  “The drink helped,” she said, standing up wobbily for a few seconds before Karen just walked over to her and picked Esna up at the waist, then threw her over her armored shoulder.

  “Hey!” Esna protested as her head got dizzy again.

  “This is faster,” the Archon said as Rammak followed the pair out, walking stiffly but keeping up as they came down the ramp and onto the hangar floor. Esna wanted to look around, but her head was upside down and her eyes didn’t want to focus on much, but she saw bits and pieces of ships around them then heard crew in the hallways that sounded like Rammak. She saw bits of Calavari of multiple colors inside Star Force uniforms, but by the time she was set down later her head was so wobbly she fell onto the table where Karen dropped her and couldn’t get her balance enough to even sit up.

  “Be still, Human,” another Calavari voice said warmly. “You are safe. Hold your hands here.”

  Esna’s head was still throbbing and her eyes were just starting to adjust as she felt giant hands pulling both of hers onto something above her. She held onto the ball-like thing, seeing it was a shiny silver as the Calavari hands pulled away…then hers stuck to it.

  “What’s going on?”

  “You are about to fully healed,” Rammak’s voice said, but he wasn’t visible and Esna found she couldn’t move her head to look to the side now.

  “I can’t move.”

  “Don’t try to speak either. The machine is working on you. It is numbing your body while it regrows tissue so you don’t feel it. You won’t be able to move until it’s done. Do not worry, just let it work.”

  Esna was a little freaked out, but after what she’d just been through with the Era’tran and Zen’zat, sitting still wasn’t too much to ask. She forced herself to relax and just went with the flow, then before she realized it her body came back under her control and her hands unstuck from the orb that she could now see with crystal clarity. In fact, her eyes were clearer than they’d been since that sandstorm her and Teren had been caught in a couple years after their father died. Her face had been rubbed so badly it’d taken weeks before her eyes stopped hurting.

  “Better?” the other Calavari asked as Esna sat up and looked around, seeing Rammak standing next to the Calavari in aqua-colored clothes. She reached a hand behind her and touched her back…feeling nothing but painless smooth skin.

  “How?” she asked, in awe.

  “Magic,” the Calavari answered as he looked at Rammak. “Satisfied?”

  “Yes.”

  “Step aside, Human. This one needs more repair than you.”

  “Sorry,” Esna said, rolling off the table and finding her legs a bit weak, but steady underneath her. She retreated out a few steps before the Calavari put one big hand on her shoulder.

  “Just stand right here for now, then we’ll get someone to take you to quarters.”

  “Alright,” she said, looking around in wonder as Rammak laid down and a cage-like apparatus surrounded him on the table. She hadn’t seen that before, but the same orb was in the center that he placed his upper hands on…then he laid still for several minutes as Esna watched the craters in his chest slowly disappear until it was back to its normal muscular sheen.

  “You took a hell of a beating,” the medic said when he released Rammak. “What did you get into down there?”

  “Zen’zat,” Rammak said as the cage withdrew and he slid his legs off the table while flexing his arms, testing their strength levels and seeming to be satisfied.

  “Where did you find her?” the medic asked, gesturing to Esna.

  “I am not assigned to this ship,” Rammak explained, placing a hand on the medic’s upper left arm. “I was recovered from the planet along with her, but it is very good to see another brother.”

  The medic frowned. “How long have you been down there?”

  “Since the fall of the planet.”

  The medic stepped back a fraction of an inch in shock. “No.”

  “Yes,” Rammak said sadly as several other Calavari medics stopped what they were doing and walked over to him.

  “Her too?”

  “She is recently born, but not of Star Force. The Viks were hunting her, but I found her first. The attention drew a pair of Mavericks to us, then your Archons intervened just as we were ambushed by an Era’tran. I need her with me constantly. She does not know her way around a Star Force ship.”

  “I see no problem with that,” a Calavari in a different uniform said, walking up behind Esna as the medics parted. “You’re not fit for duty yet, are you?”

  “I am not at my previous level, but I am not helpless.”

  “We just jumped away from the planet, so I don’t think your combat skills will be needed anytime soon. Rest, train, and recover, but most importantly…welcome back brother. I do not know how you survived so long out here.”

  The Calavari came forward and gave Rammak a big, long hug then looked down at Esna. “You are beyond lucky, little one.”

  “I know,” she said, looking up at the roomful of giants.

  “No, you do not. There are V’kit’no’sat hunters all over the Devastation Zone hunting our units and looking for any hint of our presence. You being allowed to be born out here to rogue Humans is insanely lucky. How is it possible?” he asked, but he looked at Rammak.

  “That is still a mystery. She does not know much of her past and was abandoned here when her father was killed by locals.”

  The Calavari shook his head in disbelief. “So it seems even the V’kit’no’sat miss some things. I am glad for you both. Your recovery is a welcome victory and I’m sure it’s a mark of shame they will want to eradicate, but they will not catch us. We are well stealthed and have the best gravity drives in Star Force. You need not fear here.”

  “They have ways of tracking us,” Esna said, feeling the need to speak, then suddenly regretting her words.

  “Something new,” Rammak agreed. “The Mavericks said as much.”

  “Curious, but something that others will deal with. Right now you two need to come with me,” he said, pointing a hand towards the far door across the med bay that had very few beds but a lot of workstations.

  “Thank you,” Esna all but whispered, looking back at the medic as Rammak walked with a hand on her shoulder, directing her where she needed to go as he picked up on her bewilderment. Moving about in the wastelands of the planet was one thing, but she was really feeling overwhelmed with so many Calavari around that had a very different vibe to them than those on the planet had…plus they were all crazy fit, without even one that didn’t ripple with muscles.

  When they got into the corridors that didn’t change, and by the time they got to a set of quarters and walked in Esna was so star struck she was almost numb. Rammak left her there while he had a lengthy discussion with the other Calavari a few steps away. She looked around the room, then began cautiously walking around and peering at everything but not daring to touch it for fear of doing something she wasn’t supposed to do.

  Eventually the other Calavari left them and suddenly it was back to just her and Rammak when the door closed and her anxiety settled a chunk.

  “You look pale,” Rammak said, taking a step towards her as they both stood inside the Calavari-sized quarters in the tatters of their clothes, with all pieces of their former armor having been shed and left behind. “Take a long breath and center yourself. This place may be new to you but it is home to me and you belong here too. It will just take a while for you to get used to it. How does your wound feel?”

  “Completely gone,” Esna said, feeling her bare back again to make sure. “It’s like it never even happened.”

  “When you start to run you will feel the weakness, for your repaired muscles will not be as strong. Nor will mine. But before we start training, I think you could use a long shower.”

  “Maybe,” she said, still feeling nervous. “Right now I don’t know what to think…or f
eel.”

  “I feel strangely too. It’s like all those years on Mace never happened. Everything here is the same as before, except you. We’re going to share these quarters if you don’t mind. They assigned us separate ones, but I thought you wouldn’t want to be left alone.”

  “No I don’t. Thank you.”

  “Not a problem. I’ve gotten used to having you around anyway. Get those clothes off and soak up some warm water for as long you want. When you get out there will be new clothing for you.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’m going to grab some food and bring it back here for you. I don’t think you want to eat with the crew just yet.”

  Esna shook her head in agreement, then Rammak flicked his chin at the doorway on the other end of the room.

  “Go lose yourself in the water, then we’ll take things one at a time until you get your footing.”

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “No one will bother you here, and if you take your time I’ll be back before you get out. I promise.”

  “I can do that,” Esna said, turning around and making herself walk into the other room. She’d peeked in before, but hadn’t walked all the way in. Immediately to her left was an open section of floor that had a clear wall, on the other side of which was a giant shower tube that immediately gave her a little bit of familiarity. There was a set of steep steps on the left that led up to the entrance on the top, which she started to take, then stepped back down.

  Esna walked back to the doorway and looked out, seeing that Rammak had already left. That didn’t make her feel good, but then again this place didn’t make her feel bad either. Everything was just an overload, and the longer she stood in place looking around the more the idea of warm water eroded her hesitancy. Eventually she stripped down, tossing the dirty, charred, bloody clothing in a pile on the clean floor and walked up the stairs nude. She sat down on the edge of the tube and slid her legs over the side, catching her hands on the edge as she dropped down into the empty shower.

  Esna reached up and touched the high controls, finding the design virtually identical to what Rammak had recovered on the planet and she found that familiarity reassuring as the warm rain started to fall on her sweaty, dirty hair and run down her body.

  “Ahh…” she moaned in relief, leaning against the side of the shower tube and letting her mind drift into familiar surroundings. After a few minutes the water was up to her knees and everything outside the shower seemed to phase away, letting her truly relax to the point where the stress of her injuries and seeing Rammak laying dead on the ground and everything else finally broke through to the surface and her tears began to add to the water as more emotions than she knew she had began to drain out of her…yet at the same time she was happier than she’d ever been.

  Esna knew she was a mess, but Rammak had given her a simple mission and she was going to complete it.

  Stay in the shower and soak up the warm water for a long time.

  And that was something she didn’t have to work hard at. By the time the water got up to her shoulders and she set the height marker so it wouldn’t raise any higher while still maintaining the warm rain on her, the emotional maelstrom was over and she was wrapped up in a state of growing bliss that she soon felt like never abandoning.

  The shower was now her entire world, a familiar one, and she wasn’t in a rush to expand that world. Rammak had said take a long time and that wasn’t something she was going to squander now…because as her mind settled she realized more running would be in her immediate future and there was no reason not to camp out in here until she got tired of the water.

  As if that would ever happen…

  25

  January 30, 4812

  Mordekaiser System (Devastation Zone)

  Stellar Orbit

  Esna walked through the ship corridors following Rammak to the training area as she looked at every crewmember they passed. They were all Calavari, and she hadn’t seen the Archons since they’d dropped her off in the medbay. Esna had gotten used to being smaller than Rammak, but with so many others here she kept feeling like she was going to get run over.

  That didn’t happen, for everyone gave her adequate space to move around. She hadn’t done any exploring yet, being holed up in their quarters for the past day and a half sleeping, eating, and going through lessons with Rammak. Their quarters had a comm terminal that had a lot of information about the ship and Star Force. He’d been catching up on what had happened over the past 8 centuries while schooling her in what she needed to know now that she was amongst them in order to function, though he’d promised he wasn’t going to leave her alone.

  They’d gotten breakfast in the cafeteria for the first time this morning, with her nervously eating under so many Calavari eyes around her. She guessed they didn’t see Humans much either, at least untrained ones anyway, but that hadn’t helped her get over her jitters. She’d made it through that little test then they’d come back to the quarters for more lessons… but now it was time to get back to training.

  Oddly, her body was no longer sore. Between her challenge and all that riding onboard Nor’far…who she’d also not seen since they’d boarded the ship…her body had been aching so bad, but after leaving the medbay it had disappeared along with her injury. Esna wasn’t complaining about that, but it just felt odd to not have to weather the gradual healing process, so much so that wonderful machine almost felt like cheating.

  When they got to the training area onboard the ship Rammak took her to the track and Esna was surprised to see such a large open area. It was true the corridors were giant to accommodate the Calavari, but this was by far the biggest room she’d been in yet, stretching for several hundred meters in either direction with dozens of Calavari running around small paths that crisscross the area. Some went up and down crossing over others while some were flat and sweeping with Calavari sprinting through them.

  “You will find this is better than running through canyons,” Rammak said as they walked toward one of the pathways.

  “Not wearing armor feels weird. And so do these shoes.”

  “They are meant for running while the others you had were casual ones. You will find a great difference here, though be cautious with your pace until you find out how much strength you’ve lost from your injuries.”

  “Is that the start button?” she asked, pointing to a pedestal with an orb on top beside the pathway.

  “Yes. Press your hand on it,” he said as another Calavari ran by. Esna hopped over the track as he passed and off the far side to get to the pedestal while Rammak simply took a position on the path that was twice as wide as he was. “They will not run you over. Step out with me.”

  Esna did so as a green triangle appeared in hologram above the sphere.

  “Now?”

  “Yes.”

  “You staying with me?”

  “For the first lap or two. You’ll adjust quickly enough. Tap it and go. It will remember your genetics and give you distance markers as you pass them by.”

  “How fast do you want me to go?”

  “Begin easy and feel your body out, then accelerate as you wish. This is to get you adjusted and bleed out your unfamiliarity. You know running, and doing so now will ground you. You do not realize it, but you are home now. They all know it,” he said, pointing to the other Calavari. “It is only your mind that must come to that realization. Run, adjust, relax, and start rebuilding your body.”

  “Alright, here goes,” she said, tapping the hologram and finding it to be solid. A countdown tone sounded similar to what she’d heard in her Challenge and a bit of adrenaline spiked before she reminded herself this wasn’t going to be as bad as that…though a part of her mind didn’t totally believe her.

  When the fourth and final tone sounded she took off running, immediately feeling sluggish and fast at the same time as her feet seemed to float over the smooth but grippy ground faster than they should have. Her legs, arms, and especial
ly her back seemed to lag behind and she had to slow down to a jog, but before she got to the first left hand turn a little bit of her old rhythm started to come back.

  Esna followed the path through straight sections connected by various turns that had her zigzagging across the giant room but not going up or down any inclines. A few minutes later Rammak suddenly passed her by…except it wasn’t Rammak, but another Calavari. When she realized that it spooked her so much she half jumped to the edge of the path and stumbled in her unfamiliar shoes as she caught herself.

  “You have no enemies here, Esna. Relax,” Rammak said from behind her as they came to another turn.

  “I’m trying,” she said, looking back at him over her right shoulder and seeing no more Calavari near them, though there were others meters away on other paths and that proximity still made her feel uneasy.

  “On your farm, you were mostly alone?”

  “No. There was my brother, Yammar, and Innit.”

  “But you’re not using to being in larger groups?”

  “Only when we went into town to trade or…deliver.”

  “Your time with me didn’t help then. Focus on your run as much as you can. It will take time for you to get acclimated to having others working out around you. How is your back?”

  “Stiff, but not hurting,” she said, seeing them coming around to their starting point next to one of the doorways. “I can work through the jitters on my own. Just don’t leave the room without me, okay?”

  “You’re telling me to run ahead?”

  “Yeah. Get in the workout you need. I know I’m slowing you down.”

  “Your bravery is noted. Try to get in at least 3 miles. Preferably 5.”

  “Ok,” she said as he passed her by and accelerated up to a pace that came closer to what the other Calavari were running, but still slower than most of them. Esna hoped he hadn’t lost too much from his injuries, but he did look a little stiff to her as well…but maybe that was just from seeing him out of armor.

  She saw a distance marker pop up about 30 seconds before she hit the one lap mark and it told her she was at .5 miles, meaning the track wasn’t an even distance, but then again it didn’t have to be if the holograms told you whenever you got however far you wanted, much like her armor had.