Log 1 Matter | Antimatter (20 page)

“Close the outer hatch!”

“Fire in environment compartment,” the
mechanical voice of the station’s comms boomed out.

A flurry of movement told her that wasn’t a
good thing.

“Get teams down there…”

“Ara … Ara!”

She turned and saw Trickster gazing up at
her.

“His legs are broken; he’s in a lot of
pain.”

Ara didn’t understand why she was there.
After her guard’s lecture on having a greater perspective on what
was going on around her she was suspicious. But Trickster wouldn’t
be working in with them, would he? He was mysterious, but it was
“odd”, not “operative”. A wave of nausea hit her after seeing
another crushed body.

“I should send you back.”

Ara leaned down. “Is this because of me
somehow?”

He met her eyes but said nothing.

Dust was settling, but the burnt smells
permeated the air. Lights continued to flash around as power was
out. Ara was about to talk again when the male struggled and
grabbed her am. “Nila … where’s Nila?” He tried to look to his
left.

Ara looked around seeing the crushed body
again; this time taking a longer look, she saw it was a female
crushed under equipment. She heard the male wail and carefully went
over to check on the body. The tag said, “N. Cason,” and her eyes
stared up at Ara without life. Her Nexus, Superlunary and Sawol had
travelled back to their origins leaving the husk. Ara gently closed
the lids but hid her grimace at how it felt as the lids slid over
the hard eyeballs.

“Rangers are here! Medics to the bridge.
Medics to the bridge.”

Trickster stabilized the male.

Not only was Ara in shock but she felt
useless and then cut her foot when trying to find something to help
him as he tried to stop the bleeding.

“Just come here, and stay. Apply
pressure.”

She moved over to them, ducking under a part
of the ceiling that had collapsed, and took over Trickster’s
position. “Here.” He gently placed her hands over some cloth he’d
found for the wounds. “Press.”

Nodding, she pressed while he went in search
of some supplies. How he moved around without cutting his feet or
touching anything, she wasn’t sure.

“Is she dead?”

Ara focused on the grey covered face, blood
seeping from various wounds, his left eye almost closed shut. “I’m
sorry.”

“We were together for ten years. We were on
the space station waiting for transfer to the next mission.”

“Dusty?” Someone called. “Dusty?”

Dusty? Why did that sound familiar?

His hand clenched over Ara’s arm, he croaked
out, “That’s me.”

Ara raised her head, blinking out debris
falling from the crack overhead. She yelled, “He’s over here!” As
she called out, she breathed in particles that made her cough.

Relieved voices filled the bridge, and while
some gave Ara a strange look, most attended to Dusty. Startled at
someone tugging at her nightie, she turned when Trickster became
more insistent. Ara kept coughing as her body tried to eject the
particles from her lungs. She followed him into a passage almost
devoid of people; it was dark with blinking lights and alarms.

“Ara, you must heal him.”

“Heal?”

“Like Gralten.”

She stepped back. “How do you know about
that?”

“There is no time. Will you do it?”

She wanted to ask why, and demand who he was,
but there was a sense that she could make it up to Trickster for
telling Caleb her secrets. After a visit to Caleb and sharing
everything with him, Trickster had not visited again in her dreams.
Once she had even managed to get to his jungle den on her own, but
he did not appear. Dusty was in need too, and it must be important
if Trickster was talking to her again. It had been a long time
since she had saved Gralten’s life after he was born. “It’s more
that I connected to Maya and the Cardinal Unit.”

For a moment, she felt some relief. Maybe
this didn’t have anything to do with her, but Trickster knew she
could make the Maya do things for her. So, after a slight nod, she
expected to re-enter the damaged area but Trickster pulled out a
techcon and activated it. Her mouth hung open and he pulled her
through a portal into a hut. She staggered and found her footing on
the matted flooring. Next, he sat her down and fed her bread,
cheese, nuts, fruits, and dried meat. Normally she loved to eat,
but this was ridiculous, especially when she was still coughing. He
handed her a cup of water with juice that helped.

“Trickster … I can’t fit another thing in.”
At the most bizarre moments, the devastation flashed in her mind,
making chewing and swallowing difficult. She pushed the memories
down, and tried to gain some control.

Trickster moved to one side of his almost
bare hut, which really just looked like his hunting spot except it
had four straight walls and a roof. No, it did have a single bed,
more of a mattress on the floor with woven bedcovers. Flash!
Another gruesome memory branded itself on her retinas. Focus on the
hut, Ara. Light filtered through the sticks that comprised the hut.
How sturdy was it when windy?

He was leaning over something behind the bed,
and her eyes were drawn to his bare legs and part of his arse that
she could see. Both were brown and muscular. She forgot to chew and
lost even more interest in her food.

“Where are we?” When the answer came it
seemed obvious.

“Tuan.” He stood and the muscles in his back
were flexing. His back narrowed slightly to his waist and then
flared out again to where his loin cloth wasn’t doing a very good
job of hiding his body … his arse.

“I know, don’t ask so many questions.” The
food she was trying to chew was dry so she drank some more
water.

He turned and her eyes were drawn to the
Quadrazaad he was holding.

Ara froze for a moment. “Sulture?”

He nodded, looking pleased that she
recognized it.

“But mine was the Strike,” she said somewhat
self-importantly.

His eyes rebuked her. “Ara. This is to heal
that male. Sulture.”

She flushed because of her arrogant
announcement and assumptions. But it was only to cover her growing
fear that the male and the disaster had something to do with her
after all. The male was linked to the Sulture?

He walked over and she barely noticed his
muscles play under his brown skin. Barely. He squatted down in
front of her. She looked him in the eye, but his eyes were
elsewhere on her body. She realized he was interested in her and
smiled as his eyes met hers. Anything to distract her from the
growing trepidation inside her.

Sighing, he stood and moved back to the end
of his bed.

She looked away as he turned, embarrassed
that she was perving, had assumed he had been, set down her plate,
and then found clothes shoved in her arms along with soft shoes.
“Wear those over your—dress.”

“It’s a nightie.” It was lame but she quickly
pulled on the long pants and long sleeve top as he was using some
kind of device, with maps or … data she couldn’t quite make out.
The technology was odd to her. It looked like he transferred data
from the device to his techcon. He quickly packed it back in his
chest and closed the lid. The shoes fit her well, too well, but she
didn’t complain. She fingered the material, had he made her these
clothes?

He activated another portal and pushed her
through.

“Hey!”

They were in a dark hospital room, the end
where they stood was in deep shadow, but she could just hear sirens
so they were still on the space station.

“Where is everyone and why aren’t they
attending him?”

“They have triaged him.” Trickster checked
the toe tag. “They know Dusty is special. This is best for
him.”

“Whatever.” It seemed irresponsible to Ara.
Her heart actually scrunched as she heard the sobs and she made to
move but Trickster held her back.

“The pain in his legs and back is nothing
compared to the pain in his heart.”

Ara nodded but said defensively, “I’m not
stupid.”

“Shhhh.”

She grumbled at him.

They waited for some time before Trickster
shoved her out. “Hey!”

“He’s sleeping. Curl up next to him.”

Ara didn’t bother asking what Trickster did
to make the sobbing male sleep but carefully climbed on the bed and
found Trickster placing the Quadrazaad over the chest of the male
and then placing Ara’s hand at the base. It was then she noticed
how large the male was. Tekko was the only one that had made her
feel tiny, and that’s how she felt now. “I’ve never seen his
species in Iota.”

“We aren’t in Iota.”

Ara jerked up but Trickster shoved her down
again. She should try to see Dusty’s energy and—

“Hold it there.”

While she lay there, she felt the warm pulse
of the Sulture. Trickster stood over them both, probably to make
sure she stayed put and behaved, but then wandered around the room.
Ara grew sleepy and released herself to the Sulture, feeling warmth
spreading over the male and her. But when she connected to the
Cardinal Unit, running her mind along the ELs, it was so far away.
She identified something odd—another, newer, connection. Ara
followed that, streaking the pulse up through the inky space and
connected to Maya, and the Cardinal Unit. But … it wasn’t her Maya
and Cardinal Unit. That was so odd! Curious, she found she was able
to activate the same programs, and Maya healed the male. Ara was
too shocked to learn how that happened and she promised herself if
she had to do this again she’d pay more attention to the CU’s
operation capabilities. All she remembered were flashes of labs and
robots working. Ara lost her connection as it was only supposed to
trigger a program, and she was again on the bed. At some point, she
felt a hand stroking her head and for a moment she thought it was
Trickster touching her.

“Nyx? Is that you healing me?”

“Ah—”

But the male slipped back into sleep and Ara
lifted her head seeing Trickster pressing on his drug button and
lifting the Quadrazaad.

“Ara, we must go.”

She rolled off and almost fell, her limbs
were like jelly.

His hand firmly grasped hers and he said,
annoyed, “You should have eaten more.”

“Trickster?”

They stepped through the portal.

“Hmmmm?”

She sat heavily on his pallet as Trickster
tucked the Quadrazaad away. “I connected to Maya, and the Cardinal
Unit, but they were different. You said we weren’t in Iota?”

He squatted down and touched her forehead.
“Did that frighten you?”

She considered this. “At first I was a little
shocked because I couldn’t reach … um … the Maya I usually connect
to. And then finding a different one was strange but I could still
do the same things. There’s more than one Maya and Cardinal
Unit?”

Trickster’s brown eyes were wary, but he
nodded even as he gently pushed her down and stroked her head.

“Can I go home now?” She thought of something
else. “Why did he think ‘Nyx’ was healing him … who is she or he
for that matter?”

“When I am not with you I am usually with
Nyx. Perhaps that confused him.”

“But who is she?”

He refused to answer and she fell asleep.

Iota

Station: Perza

Galactic System: Sarato (Spiral Galaxy)

Planetary System: Saratoga

Homestead

“Ara, get up!”

She dragged her cover back over her head and
complained, “I’m bushed.”

“Ara, please don’t be difficult—” Mum pulled
her quilt down and gasped. “Ara … what happened?”

“Huh? I’m tired, that’s all.”

Pen touched her face and felt her forehead.
“Alright, I’ll get the doctor.”

“No, Mum. I’m just exhausted. I had a strange
dream.”

She sat on the bed and gently pushed Ara
down. “What was it about? Not that unsmiling man again?”

“Someone was in a lot of pain, and I think I
healed him.” But she hadn’t. “I didn’t heal him, but helped I
think.”

“Like Gralten?”

She nodded, yawning. “Remember the next day I
slept all day?”

“I do. Do you know who it was?”

“No. Can’t I sleep?”

“Yes, but eat first. I’ll bring it to
you.”

Ara’s felt her face contort, trying not to
look too pleased, but Mum just laughed. “Enjoy it while you
can.”

Ara stared at herself in the mirror. “Ugh,
hag from hell.” There were deep bags under her eyes and her hair
was lank. “Back to bed I think. But shower first.” Ara looked
forward to the anticipation of enjoying the hot water run down her
body and remembering Trickster’s eyes on her made her hot with
embarrassment. But when she stepped in she gasped and squealed each
time a new nick, cut or scratch was found. Disgruntled, she turned
the shower off. Ara was careful to pat dry her skin, and picked
soft summer shorts and a tank top to wear as bedclothes.

After breakfast she headed back to the
bedroom. “Great.” The bedsheets were dirty but Mum was one step
ahead and came in with a bundle of clean bedding.

Back in bed, Ara tried to fight sleep but
sunk quickly.

The next morning, Marc knocked and came in at
her “Enter.” He was on holiday. Ara struggled to sit up.

“Still in bed I see.” He started laughing.
“You went to bed with wet hair again.”

She grumbled and touched her head. It was a
mass of frizz and knots. Pen came in with a glass of something
fizzy in a glass, and sighed. “Honestly, Ara.”

Marc waggled his finger at her. “If you can’t
already smell it, Mum’s made chocolate cake.”

It took Pen an hour sitting by the fire,
listening to the storm outside, to get all the knots out. Her arms
came around, pulling her thick bed coat around her, and Pen kissed
her on the cheek. “One more rest day, the doctor says, and then
back to school, young lady. But I say an extra day because I know
you better.”