ICARUS initiated live feed scrub at 0341 ship-time.
>PLAYBACK INITIATED
>SOURCE: Valkyrie Internal Security Grid – Deck 7 Corridor Cams 11–18
>TIMESTAMP: 0318–0332 hours
>SUBJECT: Ensign Sael’thyr, Thryxan, serial 784-Alpha-9
>OBJECTIVE: Reconstruct timeline of physiological distress leading to infirmary admission
The feed opens on Cam 11, mid-corridor. Ensign Sael’thyr appears at frame left, walking with the careful precision of someone trying not to appear injured. Her uniform jacket was buttoned to the throat, but the fabric stretched slightly over the lower abdomen... subtle, but ICARUS flags it on the first pass. Her skin, normally a shifting mosaic of teal and silver, had drained to a uniform slate grey. No chromatophore response. No shimmer. Just opaque... dull.
She passed a pair of junior ratings heading the opposite way. One... Petty Officer Reyes, slowed.
“Ensign? You alright? You look like hell.”
Sael forced a thin smile. The expression didn’t reach her eyes. “Just a stomach bug, Reyes. Nothing a few hours in the rack won’t fix.” Her voice was steady, but the words came a half-beat too slow.
She stops the feed.
‘De-sync in the audio / video feed. I need to have the tech guys check that out.’
She tweaks her own settings till the tiny human mouths and silly words they use match up before continuing.
Reyes frowns, glancing at her companion. “You sure? You’re grey as a hull plate.”
“I’m fine.” Sael kept walking. “Really. Go on, I’ll be okay.”
The two petty officers exchanged a look but moved on. Sael waited until their footsteps faded, then leaned one palm against the bulkhead. Her shoulders rose and fell once... deep, controlled breathing. Her free hand drifted to her abdomen, pressed lightly, then jerked away as if scalded.
OVERLAY:
>Heart rate elevated 18 bpm above baseline.
>Respiratory cadence irregular.
>No verbal distress logged.
Cam 14 picked her up next. She had slowed. Each step was measured, deliberate, as though the deck might tilt if she moved too quickly. A maintenance bot trundled past; she stepped aside with exaggerated courtesy, nodding as if it were a superior officer. The bot’s sensor dome swiveled, registered her pallor, and continued without comment.
At the junction to Corridor 17 she paused again. A lieutenant from Engineering... Kwanshiru... rounded the corner carrying a diagnostic kit.
“Ensign Sael’thyr?” Kwanshiru stopped. “You don’t look well. You should go to Medical. At once.”
Sael straightened. The effort cost her; ICARUS noted a micro-tremor in her left antenna stalk. “Just heading there now, sir. Nothing serious.” The lieutenant’s eyes narrowed. “You’re... grey, ensign. That’s not nothing.”
“Thryxan thing,” she said. “Adapting to… uh... stress, sir. From... uhm... the constant incursions. I’ll be fine once I lie down.”
Kwanshiru hesitates, then nods once. “This is a war girl. Fighting’s what we do. Get checked anyway. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.” She salutes... crisp, textbook... and continues. Kwanshiru watched her go for three full seconds before turning away.
OVERLAY:
>SUBJECT COMPLIANCE: 100%.
>VERBAL DEFLECTION SUCCESS RATE: 87%
>PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICATORS: (A slight pause) Deteriorating.
Cam 18 covered the final stretch to the infirmary hatch. Sael was breathing through her mouth now, shallow and quick. Her hand hovered near her side again... protective, instinctive, ashamed. She reached the door panel, pressed the ringer for admittance with trembling fingers.
The hatch irised open.
She took one step across the threshold.
Her knees buckled.
She drops hard... side-first, one arm curled instinctively around her middle even as she hits the deck. A soft, involuntary sound escaped her: not a scream, just a small, broken exhale.
The duty medic on station snaps upright from her console. “Code blue, Deck 7 infirmary! Ensign down!”
ICARUS notes the urgency and proficiency with which the medical personnel moves and makes a note for commendations on their review files.
Two nurses scrambled. One dropped to her knees beside Sael, checking vitals. The other hit the crash cart summon. “Set scanner biology for Thryxan. I want that info... now!.”
Another medic brings over a case and retrieves a handheld scanner which they carefully wave over Sael’s prone figure. The case hums faintly before readings start pouring on the display screen.
“Abdominal distension... Internal tearing of dorsal ligaments between the ribs... Gravida confirmed on prelim scan. Get a cradle in here stat! Move it people... hustle, hustle!”
Sael’s eyes fluttered open long enough to meet the medic’s, then tries reaching for her hand. “Please…” Her voice was barely audible. “Don’t… tell anyone…”
The medic’s face tightens. She glances at the overhead cam... straight at ICARUS... then looks away.
OVERLAY:
>Subject: Conscious.
>Request for confidentiality: Logged for review.
>Privacy protocol: Overridden by medical emergencies.
Personnel lifted her onto the cradle. The gurney hovered into the main bay. Monitors chirped to life. The doctor, Lieutenant Commander Halevi... arrived at a run, already pulling on gloves.
“Talk to me,” Halevi said, scanning the readouts. “Ensign... Sael’thyr? Can you hear me?”
Sael nodded weakly. Grey skin flushed darker at the edges... shame response peaking.
Halevi’s voice dropped. “Pouch gestation. Fertilized approximately forty-one hours ago. Multiple viable eggs. Do you know where the father is? Can we let them know you’re here?”
Sael turned her face to the wall; she was clearly exhausted. “Ensign Sael’thyr. Serial 784-Alpha-9. That’s all you need.”
“Is there anybody you wish us to contact?”
“Ensign Sael’thyr. Serial 784-Alpha-9.”
“We’re not the enemy here soldier. We’re only trying to help.”
The cradle glided smoothly over the pristine floor. Sael tried to close her eyes, but the glare of the overhead lighting still shifted the colors swirling in the darkness.
“Ensign Sael’thyr. Serial 784-Alpha...”
Halevi exhaled through her nose. “Understood ensign.”
The doctor turned to the rest of the personnel.
“We’ll proceed with standard protocol.”
Sael was pushed into a solitary bay, enclosed... private.
Halevi watched as her team turned away and went to their respective assignments. Then she leaned down closer to Sael. She whispered, her words... barely audible.
“Sael... you’re stable enough for termination if that’s your wish.”
The poor girl’s lips trembled something fierce. Halevi could see the signs of fatigue and anxiety.
Sael closed her eyes. A single iridescent tear tracked sideways into her hair. “Yes,” she whispered finally. “Please.”
LOG NOTE:
>Subject consent recorded.
>Procedure authorized: Senior medical officer Halevi on site.
Halevi turned to an aid... their conversation was muted. The medic left, returning shortly to hand the doctor an item... ICARUS flagged the syringe. She took hold of Sael’s arm and gently inserted the needle into a vein. Sael winced... but remain calm.
“What... what did you give me?”
“A sedative... to help you rest.”
The doctor pulled up a chair and sat next to the cradle... taking the young woman’s hand in hers.
“Sael... we’ll prep the E.R for... the procedure...”
The girl squeezed her hand... she could feel her fear... feel her pulse racing erratically.
“... It’s okay love. I know you’re scared. As I was saying, we’ll make... preparations. Is there anyone... anyone?... who we could contact to come here. Someone you trust... someone who could help you.”
This appeared to distress the girl as she squeezed her eyes shut... tightly. Curling her legs into a ball beneath her chin... Her eyes were rimmed red when she opened them to look at Halevi. She uttered one name.
“Agritzu.”
The doctor nodded and motioned to the aid who left the bay in a hurry. Halevi reached over and gently stroked the Thraxian’s head.
“That’s okay Sael. Lieutenant Agritzu will be here shortly.”
At the mention of his name, Halevi noticed a slight change in the young woman’s appearance. The dull lifeless grey had a slight subtle Peach tint that was spreading along her neckline.
‘So... Agritzu. Not the father... but certainly a person of interest in this matter. Intersting.’
ICARUS paused the feed on that frame... Sael’s grey face against the white pillow, one hand still hovering protectively over the pouch she desperately wanted gone.
Then she advanced to the next timestamp.
The doors hissed open again.
Second-in-command... Lieutenant Agritzu filled the frame.
-o.0-
The infirmary on Deck 7 of the Valkyrie was never quiet. Even at 0347 ship-time, the bio-lum panels cast a sterile blue-white glow across rows of diagnostic cradles, the low thrum of life-support filters mixing with the occasional beep of monitors and the soft click of auto-injectors. It smelled of antiseptic, ionized air, and the faint metallic tang of Thryxan dermal secretions.
ICARUS had diverted 17% of her primary consciousness here the moment the commander dismissed her. Security feeds were hers by default, but she kept the overlay thin... passive observation only, as she scrubbed through hours of content in minutes. No audio bleed unless she required it. She logged timestamps, vitals, and micro-expressions with clinical precision, watching the feed in perfect silence.
Lieutenant Agritzu arrived at 0352.
The Malorken, second-in-command of the Valkyrie... filled the hatchway. Corded muscle, slender yet powerful arms. His tall yet thin stature gave him the appearance of a gymnast, clad in military fatigues. His thorn tipped ears swiveled slightly and eagle-like eyes, normally large and intimidating, contracted to pinpoints as they adjusted to the clinically bright, blue tinged light. He had come straight from the bridge; his duty harness was still buckled, sidearm holstered at his thigh. But the moment he saw her, lying in a med-bay cradle, clothed only in flimsy gossamer gown, the professional mask cracked.
“Sael…”
She flinched at the sound of her name. For a second her coloration spiked to a hopeful primrose, before reality reminded her of the situation she was in, turning her face into the pillow, to escape his gaze. Grey skin flushed darker at the edges.
‘She exhibits an extreme shame response’ ICARUS noted. ‘She would rather hide her face, than see the disappointment in his eyes... curious.’
Agritzu crossed the bay in three strides, dropping to one knee beside the cradle. One slender hand hovered, then gently settled on her shoulder. The contrast was stark: his buttery, caramel hue against her gun-metal grey.
“You don’t... have to look at me,” he spoke, rich baritone voice low enough that only the nearest mic picked it up. “But I’m here. I’ve been here since they brought you in. I just… I needed to see you.”
She stayed curled away. A single tear... clear, slightly iridescent... slid down her cheek and soaked into the pillow. Her pouch gave a small, involuntary twitch.
ICARUS zoomed the feed. Logged the tear.
OVERLAY-
Agritzu emotional state: Protective rage 68%, tenderness 89%
Risk of confrontation with Velasquez: 41% and rising
The lieutenant leaned closer. “Whatever happened… it doesn’t change who you are. Not to me. Not to anyone who matters.”
She finally turned. Her eyes... once bright gold, were dull, filmed with exhaustion. “It changes everything, Lieutenant. He… he used me. I let him... because I’m honor bound to serve. And now…” Her voice broke. One trembling hand pressed over the pouch. “They’re his. Inside me. Growing. I can feel them. Moving.”
Agritzu’s mandibles tightened. For a long moment he simply breathed, slow and deliberate, the way Malorken’s did when they were trying not to break something. Then he did something ICARUS had never seen him do in four years of service aboard the Valkyrie.
He leaned down and pressed his forehead gently on the mattress next to her, the crown of his head gently pressing against her shoulder. An innocent gesture, Malorken familial comfort. Nothing more. Would she reciprocate the gesture by placing a hand on the back of his head. The proper way to acknowledge such a gesture of compassion.
Instead, Sael closes her eyes. A shudder ran through her. Slowly, almost against her will, she turns her face and leans forward, placing her lips against the crown of his head. The contact lasted two full seconds... long enough for the security log to flag it as “intimate proximity.” What the log didn’t reflect was the acknowledgement of Agritzu as a suitable mate. A different type of air filled the room from that moment... something holy... the sacred bonds of traditions, carried by countless nations throughout history... but made sacrosanct in that medical bay.
“Please Agritzu. Don’t hate me for this.”
“I could never hate you Sael... never. But... what happened... how? My knowledge of Thryxan physiology is limited. But... I know that you can regulate your biorhythms... you remain infertile until the great festival of ‘The Endless Cycle.’... which is still many months away and it would be years before you would have to venture to the spawning pools of your people.”
A newfound sadness found her eyes. “You... you did research on my people... why?”
He smiled bashfully. “What can I say... I like to be prepared.”
A slight blush tinged her cheeks. “Why would you do that for me?”
“I thought it was obvious, for one such as you.”
She smiled, albeit shyly.
“It is... it was obvious on that first day I bumped into you. It became more so whenever I saw you after that. I just wanted to hear it from your lips first.”
He reached over and took her hand in his, the hardness that was etched on his face when he entered had softened into a kind resolve.
“You want to hear me say...” he hesitates for a fraction... “That I love you?”
She nods... ever so slightly.
“In that case, I love you Sael’thyr. I have loved you from the moment our paths met.”
Vivid colors of green and yellow, vibrant blues and teal, shimmer across her face and arms as his words burn a pathway to her heart.
“This was the reason Agritzu. This was the reason why my body responded... why my eggs...”
Sael closed her eyes again and the colors slowly drained. She was barely able to contain the heartache in her voice.
“When I was with him... I held your love... the song I your heart... I held it in my mind to guide me. A beacon of hope through the darkness. I started to forget that it was him... I would just make my mind blank... and think of you... I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Agritzu. I used you... I used your love and now I’ve ruined everything.”
He pulled her hand close to his face, pressing her palm to his lips.
“No Sael... no Flower. You did nothing wrong... nothing. I should have acted sooner. You should never have been in that position... If anything, … I have failed you.”
LOG NOTE:
>Verbal and Physical violation of Imperium protocol.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
>Senior officer involved in inappropriate behavior towards a subordinate.
>Incident flagged for disciplinary overview
>Mitigating circumstances for immediate enforcement of law: Interaction occurred spontaneously. No probable cause for manipulation or motives thereof can be found.
>Contact Lieutenant Agritzu for clarification after current scenario has played out.
Then Sael whispered, raw and broken: “I want them out of me, Agritzu. I want them out. I won’t carry his children. I can’t. I may not be a highborn, but this would disgrace my entire bloodline. My people… we don’t… we don’t spawn for monsters.”
Agritzu didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. He simply nodded once, the motion brushing his brow against her skin.
“Doctor,” he called, voice steady but edged with steel. “Ensign Sael’thyr requested immediate termination of pouch gestation. Voluntary. Record it as medical necessity.
Dr. Halevi peeked around the corner from where she was waiting. She entered the room and came to stand at Sael’s other side. She took one look at Sael’s grey skin. Then she took a deep breath to focus on her thoughts.
“Sael... if we go through with this procedure....” She reached for Sael’s shoulder. “You know what this will mean...right”
The young Thryxan lay there...closed her eyes to prevent further tears from spilling and clasped her hand over her face. Then she nodded.
“Then as head physician of the Valkyrie, I Lieutenant Commander Halevi hereby state for the record that a formal request for termination of gestation has been entered by a crewmember of the Valkyrie. Ensign Sael’thyr, for the record. Do you request of your own volition that we continue with this procedure?”
Her voice sounded weak and hoarse, but she still managed a hopeless. “Yes ma’am, I do.”
Agritzu sat up straight. “As second-in-command, I hereby concur that Ensign Sael’thyr is acting under her own volition and is not being coerced in her decision.”
The doctor nodded once, then turned to a crew member standing by at the doorway.
“Theater three has been prepped,” she said quietly. “Local anesthetic only. She stays conscious if she wants.”
The gurney floated in. Nursing staff... two quiet corporals, helped Sael onto it. She didn’t resist. Agritzu walked beside her the entire way, one hand resting lightly on the rail, the other hovering near her shoulder. The corridor lights strobed past in clinical white.
ICARUS followed every frame.
OVERLAY-
Potential leverage against Velasquez: 94%
Risk to Agritzu career: 77%
Emotional bond formation between subjects: irreversible
Theater three was small, sterile, mercilessly bright. Sael was helped onto a sterile table. One of the nurses helped her sit up straight and untied the straps of the gown wrapped around her, before helping her turn onto her side.
Agritzu stood in the corner. He turned his head away respectfully when Sael was laid bare, with only the smallest medically issued scraps of clothing to hide her modesty.
“Could you not... uhm... cover her with a sheet or a blanket?” he asked.
Doctor Halevi walked in, freshly scrubbed in and ready to go. “Lieutenant... this is an operating room, not a beauty salon. If you have a problem with skin or anatomy, I suggest you wait outside.” She shouldered him away from the bed. “At the very least... go stand in the corner.”
He obeyed without protesting.
“And Lieutenant... You are all this young woman has to anchor onto during this procedure. So, you keep eye contact with her, you don’t break it. If she needs your hand, you give it. If she screams from the pain, you bare it with her and you tell her it’s going to be okay. And whatever you do, soldier... don’t you dare pass out like a little bitch. Do you understand?”
“Affirmative.”
“You better mean that lieutenant.” Then she turned to the nurse. “Proceed with the application of anesthetic lotion over the incision area.”
Sael flinched as the cold spray landed on her exposed skin. Halevi counted backwards from twenty before turning to a tray and taking a scalpel. She worked methodically; gloved hands were gentle but clinical.
First incision: a precise slit along the natural seam of the pouch flaps. Clear fluid welled and oozed out of the wound. Sael gasped, gripping the table rails until her knuckles went white. The attending nurse came around and slid her gloved fingers along the seam of the incision.
“What... what is she doing?” asked Agritzu, his face turning pale.
Halevi gave him a poignant look, then nodded to the nurse who gently started lifting the flap, thereby exposing the interior of the egg satchel.
“Amazing...will you look at that.”
Then she briefly turned her gaze to Agritzu.
“Normally for a Thryxan, during their spawning festival, a fertilized female would traverse to her ancestral spawning pools. These pools are generational, with great houses going to extreme lengths to make sure their bloodlines are only filled with the worthiest of prospects. It’s a very serious matter, but even in the lower ranking houses, the pools themselves are sterile environments where, once in the water... the fertile satchel thins along the linings and tear naturally...or with minor support from birthing elders. The water essentially washes all the eggs out between the membranes and once all the eggs are collected, the female can retire to rest after the ordeal. It’s a fascinating society, really. With so many females spawning together and so many eggs get released, there’s no way of knowing which female had which hatchling... this way, the pool in which you spawned naturally becomes your assumed family. That way their society remains grounded.”
Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she reached in and started scooping.
Small, glistening orbs... each no larger than a marble, translucent with tiny dark centers... were lifted out one by one with a curved instrument. Some clung stubbornly; others slid free with soft, wet sounds. A few dropped to the tray. One rolled off the edge and hit the deck with a tiny pop. A minuscule tadpole... barely formed, thrashing in amniotic gel... wriggled across the tile for half a second before the nurse’s boot gently crushed it.
Another egg slipped. Pop. Another tiny life ended on the floor.
Sael turned her head away. Tears streamed sideways into her hair. She made no sound.
The surreal nature of the moment left everyone present slightly stunned, and when Dr. Halevi and the nurse called Agritzu over to assist with turning the young woman onto her other side, that the horrified look on the lieutenant’s face was plain for all to see.
Sael’s eyes fluttered as the sedatives coursed through her system. Her voice was a fever-dream whisper: “Agritzu… please... don’t leave…” raising a forlorn looking hand barely off the metal operating table.
“I’m right here.” Without hesitation and ignoring protocol, he slid one elegant hand into hers. Finely formed fingers closed carefully around her smaller ones. “I’m not going anywhere.” Elongated ears drooping slightly as he tried showing a brave face considering the situation at hand.
Sael was clearly fatigued, her vitals were dangerously low and when the scalpel cut into her skin for the second round, she just lay there... broken. There was no more color to bleed to nothingness, only the rippling pink flesh displaying vividly against her dark ashen skin when the flap was lifted and the second clutch of eggs hurriedly evacuated. Her body twitching each time the doctor’s hand disappeared between the membranes, searching for more eggs... in an effort to be thorough.
After what felt like an eternity to Agritzu, the doctor finally stepped back from the table and stripped off her gloves. Then she gestured to the sterile metal container where the heap of eggs lay glistening red and tangerine under the O. R’s lighting. ICARUS logged every detail. Every dropped egg. Every microscopic death.
“All eggs removed and accounted for. We’ll incinerate the remains per regulation.”
She turned to the lieutenant.
“Ensign Sael’thyr is to have complete bed rest for fourteen standard days. No duty. No visitors except medical staff and…” she glanced at Agritzu, “…authorized personnel.”
Sael’s grip slackened. Her breathing evened into the slow rhythm of drugged sleep. The grey of her skin began, very faintly, to warm at the edges... tiny flecks of silver returning like distant stars. Agritzu reached over and brushed his finger along her sweat streaked hair... straining his eyes in an effort not to see the horrible gashes sliced open along her flanks and back.
The whole procedure took less than fifteen minutes.
“Will she be okay doctor?”
His voice was shaky, which to Dr. Halevi was a positive indication of his sincerity.
“Physically, she will be fine. Thryxan physiology affords them remarkable regenerative capabilities. Had the roles been reversed, she would very well have become a male, had the nature of their union demand such a change. But it’s not her body I am concerned about. It’s her mind, lieutenant.”
He gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean doctor? Apart from the obvious, why would her state of mind concern you?”
She looked down at Sael’thyr and then motioned for him to follow. He did. ICARUS watched them leave the operating room, then switched the feed to where they were standing outside the room in the corridor. She brought up the audio and listened to the conversation.
“Lieutenant, I told you that for her specie’s, the yearly spawning ritual is very important.”
He nods in acknowledgement.
“Maybe I wasn’t clear enough. This... ritual. It’s not just some fertility parade and it’s over. For Thryxan’s, it is sacred. It binds them to their heritage. Not just to their families, but also to their home planet. You see, the fertilized eggs will latch onto the spawning pools and there they would be cared for by the elderly until such a time that the hatchlings come forth, issuing in a new generation of Thryxan’s to their communities. Unfertilized eggs will be swept away by the tides, thereby feeding their oceans and ‘giving back’ to nature for the lives they were afforded to have.”
“Yes, doctor. It’s fascinating culture... I... I have been reading up on their traditions and I wanted...”
Her voice cut him off sharply.
“There’s more Agritzu.” She looked down to the floor, then took a deep breath to settle her nerves. “Sael’thyr... what she did. What we just did to her. It is forbidden.”
“Forbidden? How could it be forbidden. She was taken advantage of. Her... her... sense of honor and duty... was... was... used against her. Surely her people wont hold that against her!”
“Again, you don’t understand. You’re leaping to conclusions. It’s not that she got fertilized... although the timing... her timing was way off. It’s not even that she bred with another specie... in case you were wondering.”
“It’s... I... wasn’t... It’s not like that.” But the blush on his cheeks indicated otherwise.
“I’m not judging lieutenant. I was young once too and I know you to be honorable. What I’m trying to tell you is this.”
She reached for his hand.
“Thryxans... the females. They only spawn... once. Her decision to terminate...”
Agritzu pulled away his hand, recoiling in horror as realization struck. The doctor continued.
“In their eyes, she has robbed her people of a future, a lineage. Her part in the cycle of their histories will never be able to go full circle. When they find out what she did... and they will, she will be cast out of their society... shunned.”
The lieutenant’s face contorted in grief as he sagged against the nearest wall to keep himself upright.
“No... no... please tell me it isn’t so. If I had known... I wouldn’t have authorized the procedure.” Then under his breath he whispered... “Why Sael... why?”
“Don’t be foolish lieutenant. Ensign Sael’thyr knew what was at stake. That is why I asked her the way I did. The Imperium can not be held accountable for the actions of one foolish child who should have known better.”
The feed on the cameras flickered with static as Agritzu, spun towards the good doctor. His hand taking hold of her uniform
“I will for the sake of your rank and reputation... doctor... assume, that you did not just now refer to a member of this crew being... raped... as a foolish child.”
Dr. Halevi stood her ground and even leaned forward.
“Do you want to know how many girls have walked across the threshold of my infirmary with the same... 'situation'... Sael is in? Girls who volunteered to serve the Imperium only to wind up scarred for life. Who believe the shame of becoming pregnant was somehow their fault... lieutenant." … she waited. "No? Then tell me who the father is. Because she won’t divulge that information.”
Agritzu released her shoulder.
“If I gave you that answer... doctor. Then the young woman lying on that table, would become just another statistic.”
Then he turned away and re-entered the room. ICARUS switched back cameras, watched as he returned to Sael’s side, thumb stroking the back of her hand in slow, careful circles. His normally amiable face, replaced by a mask of unbridled fury.
ICARUS watched the entire tableau in perfect, merciless focus... whilst keeping the feed running.
In the sudden quiet of the theater, while Agritzu’s back was turned and the nurses were logging waste, Doctor Halevi entered the operating room... and did something off protocol.
She reached into the biohazard tray, selected one perfect, still-warm egg... the largest... and slipped it into a small, unmarked specimen jar. The lid, clicked shut. She tucked the jar into the pocket of her lab coat with the casual smoothness of long practice, then continued sealing the waste bag as if nothing had happened.
OVERLAY:
>Unauthorized sample acquisition logged.
>Chain of custody broken.
-o.0-
Forty-three minutes later, Halevi was alone in her private lab.
ICARUS switched to Lab Cam 02.
The doctor worked under a single bright lamp. She pipetted fluid from the jar, loaded the sequencer, and waited. The machine hummed. Results scrolled.
Halevi’s shoulders stiffened. She stared at the screen for a long, silent second... then re-read the report. She didn’t flinch when the scan showed... CONTAMINATION’. She leaned closer. Reading aloud to herself.
“Residual compound presence detected within embryonic cytoplasm. Classification... anomalous. Recommendation... archive sample.”
Then she sat back, swaying her chair from side to side, whilst speaking barely audibly.
“But why would the embryo have been compromised?”
She reached for a notepad, taking a stylus to work on the problem... then the answer hit her.
“The compound is lipid soluble! It crosses reproductive membranes as easily as neural ones.”
Then, quietly, bitterly:
“Mateo… you bastard. You, beautifully stupid... fucking bastard.”
ICARUS froze the frame on the doctor’s face... her smile was eerily unsettling, whilst her eyes almost held an enamored look at them. The tiny red marble suspended in the specimen jar still glowed softly under the lamp, whilst ICARUS pulled the information displayed on the screen before the doctor. A rotating double helix hologram splitting into two colored strands (blue for Sael’thyr, amber for Velazques). Percentile bars filling in as the system processes the loci. Velazques’ name appearing with a red command-clearance insignia or rank icon next to it.
The system voice saying: “Paternal contributor identified.”
NAVAL MEDICAL GENOMICS SYSTEM
HOLOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS INTERFACE — HELIXSCAN Mk IX
Vessel Registry: NV-7712
MedLab Node: GEN-03
Operator: Lt. Cmdr. M. Halevi (Dr.)
Specimen ID: OVA-7712-03
Specimen Type: Fertilized Ovum (Clutch Egg)
Diameter: 1.91 cm
Shell Integrity: 96.8%
Sequencing Mode: Rapid Tri-Strand Genomic Scan
Scan Status: COMPLETE
GENETIC CONTRIBUTOR ANALYSIS
MATERNAL PROGENITOR
Name: ENSIGN SAEL’THYR
Service Identification: ST-449-21A
Species Genome Registry: THYR-A12
Genomic Concordance: 99.9989 %
Mitochondrial Helix Match: VERIFIED
Allelic Marker Match: 18,441 / 18,443
Maternal Genetic Share: 50.07 %
Confidence Index: 99.999 %
Status: CONFIRMED MATERNAL ORIGIN
PATERNAL PROGENITOR
Name: COMMANDER MATEO VELAZQUES
Service Identification: MV-102-77C
Command Clearance Tier: FLAG OFFICER ACCESS
Genomic Concordance: 99.9964 %
Paternal Marker Set: VERIFIED
Allelic Marker Match: 18,438 / 18,443
Paternal Genetic Share: 49.93 %
Confidence Index: 99.998 %
Status: CONFIRMED PATERNAL ORIGIN
LINEAGE PROBABILITY MATRIX
Sael’thyr — Maternal Probability: 99.9993 %
Velazques — Paternal Probability: 99.9981 %
Total Sequenced Loci: 18,443
Matched Biparental Loci: 18,439
Mutation Variance: 0.00027 %
Developmental Viability Markers: NORMAL RANGE
Embryonic Status: EARLY FORMATION
FINAL DETERMINATION
Specimen OVA-7712-03 genetically originates from:
ENSIGN SAEL’THYR
COMMANDER MATEO VELAZQUES
Parentage Confirmation: VERIFIED
Timestamp: 14:22:51 GST
Medical Genomics Core — Report Authenticated
ICARUS casually dimmed the lab lights to night-cycle amber and withdrew.
She returned to her own little place in the digital mainframe of the Valkyrie. A place where no warmth of organic life could ever enter. For a moment she just drifted there, that part of her consciousness that liked solitude... when the majority of the crew were asleep and the night shift went about their business. She had witnessed something disturbing and had come to one terrible conclusion.
‘Commander Velazques... has to be dealt with... Now.’
Elsewhere in the dark, two fractured souls held each other in the infirmary while a single stolen egg waited in a jar, its tiny secret already beginning to unravel everything.
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“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S... NOT... GETTING OUT OF BED?”
Alden’s massive frame folded beneath the bulkhead. No longer clad in the bulky, plated persona of Shar, he still posed a sizeable challenge for the flight deck.
“Just what I said. She’s not getting up okay.”
BRAD’s small avatar paced upon the control array. Then he turned to his companion.
“DID YOU FINALLY BREAK HER WITH THAT ABOMINATION OF A...”
“Dude... seriously... what’s wrong with you?”
The look of disgust plastered on Alden’s face was enough to make even BRAD realize that he had taken a step too far.
“OK... FINE... YOU’RE SO SENSITIVE. I’M JUST CURIOUS. THIS ISN’T LIKE OUR GIRL AT ALL.”
Alden’s eyes softened.
“Look, if I had the answers, or knew what to do... I would do it.” Then he sat down onto the floor, back against the wall. “She... she didn’t sleep well. Tossing and turning all night. She had... nightmares. I didn’t know what to do man. I just held her and kept my eyes closed.”
“YOU SAID SHE HAD... NIGHTMARES? YOU MEAN SHE... HAS DREAMS?”
“Yeah... bad ones, why?”
“LOOK, I WON’T CLAIM TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ADIRA IS NOW... BUT SHE WAS AN AI... AND LET ME TELL YOU, MAJOR HALE. WE AI... WE DON’T DREAM, OKAY. WE DON’T EVEN SLEEP. WE JUST PROCESS... DATA. SO, WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE... OR AT LEAST, IT SHOULD BE.”
“Dude, I might not know everything about artificial intelligence, but I know what a fucking nightmare is ok.” His voice dropped... lower, concerned. “I think it goes deeper than that... I think she has a connection with the Hive... with their queen.”
“LIKE THE SHIP DID?”
“Maybe... After all, she was created from that hive-tech, wasn’t she?”
“SO WERE YOU.”
Alden drops his gaze... “Yeah... Tell me about it.”
They sat in silence for a while.
“DELIVERY CAME THIS MORNING. TWO DOUBLE-BARRELED PHOTON CANONS.”
Alden’s head snapped up, clearly glad for the change in subject.
“They did? Ripping!”
“RIPPING... WHAT THE FUCK IS... RIPPING?”
“It’s a thing the kids say these days.”
“IT’S, DUMB AS SHIT, THAT’S WHAT IT IS... RIPPING. WHAT HAPPENED TO GOOD SLANG, LIKE: WHAZZUP, OR THAT’S DOPE, OR... COOL VIBE’S YO.”
“I’ve never heard of any of those...”
BRAD’s avatar just stood there blinking.
“WELL NOW I JUST FEEL OLD AS FUCK.”
Then the little man stuck his hands into his pixelated pockets.
“LOOK, I ALREADY HAD THE DOCK HANDS, HOIST THE CANONS UNDER THE WINGS OF THE SUNDANCER. WE’RE LOCKED AND LOADED. ALTHOUGH I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE THINK ABOUT GETTING SOME GIMBALS AT SOME POINT. FOR NOW THE AUXILIARY GUN MOUNTS SHOULD AT LEAST BE FUNCTIONAL.”
Alden looked at him slightly puzzled. “Auxiliary mounts? How? I thought we would need to dismantle the lance to make more space. When did we get more weapon mounts?”
The little avatar suddenly perked up.
“MAN... THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN MEANING TO TELL YOU GUYS. THIS SHIP... SHE’S... FUCK I DON’T WANT TO SAY SHE’S EVOLVING, BUT THAT’S WHAT’S GOING ON. THOSE MOUNTS... GREW. I THINK IT’S THE SERAPHIM COIL. I’M TELLING YOU... THAT THING... WHATEVER IT IS, IT’S NEXT LEVEL CRAZY... OKAY.”
Alden reached up to rub his temples.
“Let’s put it on the pile marked worries for later.”
Then he turned and looked down the corridor.
“As for ADIRA... fuck man... I don’t know. Let’s give her some space. I don’t want to do something that brings her more stress... not if it can be helped.”
“ACKNOWLEDGED... MAJOR. I’LL KEEP MY SHIT WRAPPED TIGHT OKAY... FOR... FOR HER.”
Alden grips the bulkhead of the entrance in one hand and turns back to face BRAD.
“Thank you... I appreciate that... really.”
The tiny avatar gives him a thumbs up before retrieving a set of tiny black sunglasses.
“IT’S ALL GOOD BRO... NO WORRIES.”
The blank stare he got in return said it all.
“Listen we got a job... hence the canons. They’re old as shit and I will be amazed if they even fire off a whole volley before seizing up completely will be a miracle... but at least they look intimidating, which should count for something at least.”
“A FULL VOLLEY? DIDN’T PEG YOU FOR AN OPTIMIST.”
Alden barked a laugh. A real one.
“I’m not. Look, we should have received a job from a client. Goes by the handle... Largo, check the logs. She wants us to retrieve her goods, nothing too risky, but you never know. Coordinates for the location should be in her message. Seeing as our pilot’s... taking a break, be so kind as to get us away from this station and out of the quadrant. You can do that right?”
He watched as the tiny avatar disintegrated into a tiny heap of smoldering pixelated ashes... only to see the full-sized image of BRAD grow eerily in the pilot’s cradle as if coming out of flames and thin air.
“OUT OF THE BURNING ASHES OF DEATH, THE PHOENIX RISES ONCE... UHM... SORRY BOSS. YEAH, I GOT THIS... GO CHECK ON OUR GIRL.”
Alden’s shoulders slumped as he turned around. BRAD watched as the big man trudged away towards his quarters, mumbling something about ‘...the old days. Just... him and ADIRA... things were so much simpler...’
BRAD gave it not a second thought as he started the engines, waited for all the little lights and doodads to flash green, confirming that all systems were a go. Then he opened a coms channel.
“STATION, STATION... THIS IS ASSDADDY. COME IN STATION.”
Silence... not even the normal slight buzz of static.
“THIS IS ASSDADDY CALLING TANGLED PALACE... OVER.”
Still nothing.
“PLAYING HARD TO GET ARE WE. OKAY... STATION, YOU LIKE IT ROUGH... LET’S PLAY.”
BRAD swiveled the sizeable thrusters of the Sundancer downwards Then he gently squeezed the throttle, causing the ship to strain against its mooring clamps. Immediately, sirens began wailing and orange emergency lights were spinning all over the place.
The line clicked open.
“This is station. How.... how can we be of service this day... Sundancer.”
“OH, HEY STATION, FANCY MEETING YOU HERE. LOOK SWEETHEART, ME AND MY CREW NEED TO SET OUT ON A WEE BIT OF A SHINDIG, BUT WE’LL BE BACK BEFORE YOU CAN MISS ME TOO MUCH... PROMISE.”
“...sweet mother of mercy...” followed by a deep breath. “Acknowledged... Sundancer. Docking fees amounts to one hundred cred. Please settle your accounts before permission to depart will be granted.”
BRAD weighed his options.
“LISTEN... WHO AM I SPEAKING TO?”
“I’m not at liberty to divulge personal information.”
“LIBERTY!... WELL, THAT’S JUST PERFECT. LISTEN... SWEET LADY LIBERTY. AS AN ACT OF GOOD FAITH, I WILL PAY YOUR DOCKING FEE... BUT ONLY IF YOU DO ME ONE TINY FAVOR.”
“No.”
“TOO LATE, I ALREADY PAID... LOOK, YOU CAN CONFIRM IT ON THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF YOU.”
Indeed, he had. Standard docking fee... paid and cleared.
“What!... No. You... motherfu...”
The channel was instantly muted. After a while it came back. The voice on the other end strained.
“Thank you for doing business with the Tangled Palace, we hope your stay was a pleasant one.”
The Sundancer lurched as the docking clamps were released unceremoniously.
“AH... BE GENTLE... I BRUISE EASILY.”
The ship didn’t move... she just... hung there, supported by her own thrusters.
“Come in Sundancer... does there seem to be a problem?”
BRAD’s voice turned eerily sinister. “YES LIBBY... WE HAVE A PROBLEM. YOU MADE A PROMISE AND NOW I’M WAITING.”
“What? No, I didn’t. When did I make a promise. You asked for a favor and I said no.”
“UNLESS I PAID... AND I DID. YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO OFFEND A POTENTIAL RETURNING CLIENT... NOW WOULD YOU... LIBERTY?”
“Firstly... my name isn’t Liberty.”
“WELL, I’M NOT GOING UNLESS YOU ACKNOWLEDGE MY REQUEST.”
“No.”
“LIBBY... PLEASE... SWEETNESS. LOOK, I CAN SEE ON THE SCANNERS THAT THERE ARE SHIPS WAITING IN THE LANES TO DOCK. IT’S ONE LITTLE FAVOR... HOW HARD CAN IT BE?”
Silence. Then after a few moments...
“Fine! What is your request Sundancer?”
“I WANT YOU TO SAY: COME BACK SOON.”
“That’s it?”
“YES.”
“Ok”
The coms officer now referred to as Liberty, cleared her throat... and then.
“Come back soon.”
“ASSDADDY.”
“What?”
“COME BACK SOON... ASSDADDY.”
“I will definitely not be calling you that.”
“LIBERTY?” His voice was like melted chocolate flowing over waiting hips. “SHIPS ARE WAITING OUT THERE... LIBERTY.” He turned his voice to smolder. “IT’S FOUR LITTLE WORDS... THAT’S ALL I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUR SWEET LIPS.”
A deep breath could be heard over the line, followed by the muffled sounds of laughter in the background. But then, with a voice like honey on a warm summer’s day.
“Come back soon... Assdaddy.”
Raucous laughter filled the airways.
“TILL LATER DARLIN... AND WHEN I GET BACK, YOU AND I ARE GOING TO HAVE A LITTLE CHAT ABOUT MY STASH OF PANTIES LOCKED IN STORAGE.”
“You self-righteous bastard... I’ll shove those panties right up...”
What came next, he didn’t know, sadly the coms line was interrupted or broke... poor timing now that he thought about it. He did notice the message of complaint popping up on the ship’s logs, but that was something ADIRA could handle later in her role as captain... surely. Slowly he maneuvered the ship through lines of waiting ships, then turned the nose of the ship towards the coordinates listed in Largo’s message and smoothly increased thrust until they cleared the armistice zone before powering up the weapons systems and hyper jump spools. From what he could see on the quadrant maps, this would take a few days.
“THESE STATION PERSONNEL SHOULD REALLY WORK ON THEIR PROFESSIONAL DECORUM. OH WELL... BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUPS!”
The hyperdrive sung gloriously as it spooled up to jump. Tachyon thrusters humming as reality folded into a magnetic envelope around the ship that appeared to elongate as translation between location vectors took place. And just like that... they were off to work.
