The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (17 page)

Xi-Tarq was ensconced in a specially constructed cell from which he could not possibly
escape.  The
makina
was stored in the same building, in a new research lab built for the sole purpose
of learning every detail possible from the captured Xanti. 

Xi-Kung stopped the data replay at learning that particular bit of news, climbed out
of his
makina
and began to pace his quarters.  A captured, live Xanti!  Just thinking of it made
him want to sting someone to death.  Several someones.  And the
makina
!  They had a
makina
.  And not just any
makina
either.  No.  Of course not.  It had to be one of the newest, streamlined, instant
clone
makinas
of which there were only a few in existence, and which carried the highest loss penalty. 
He didn’t have a chance of coming out of this alive.  Not a chance.

A Ruling Female had just been exterminated for allowing a
makina
to be captured by the Jasani along with it’s dead rider.  Xitura-Re’s execution,
and by extension, the destruction of her entire brood, was the only reason he’d been
given the prime territory of Jasan in the first place.  He would not be so lucky as
Xitura-Re.  They’d just killed her.  

He crawled up the wall, across the ceiling and back to the terminal again, in an endless,
frantic loop for hours on end as he imagined the painful and humiliating end he would
be sentenced to for this.  His dreams of glory were ashes in his mouth, slowly choking
him. 

Finally, exhausted and resigned, he went back to the terminal and started the play
back.  He might as well listen to the rest of it.  Much to his surprise, it turned
out to be very lucky for him that he did listen to the remainder of the data.  He
learned something, toward the end, that he hadn’t realized at first.  He went back
and listened again, hope rising within him.  Perhaps there was a way out of this mess
after all.

Day Five

“Can I push the ringing button?” Nica asked Honey as they stepped onto the doorstep
of Arima House.

“Of course,” Honey replied, smiling as Nica stretched up on her tip-toes to reach
the button.  Her finger barely touched it, but she was a determined little girl.

“I did it,” she said triumphantly as the bell chimed within the house.

“Yes, you did,” Honey said.  “You’re growing so fast, Nica.”

The door opened and Berta stared at them for a moment in surprise.

“Good morning you two,” she said, standing aside and waving them in.  “I was planning
to come down to the Bearens’ and see you in a little while.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t vox first,” Honey said. 

“That’s quite all right,” Berta replied.  “I’m happy to see you both.  Have you had
breakfast?”

“Yes, we have, thank you,” Honey replied with a smile.  “Aunt Berta, I wonder if you
have a few minutes to talk with me?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Berta replied, studying Honey’s face.  She looked as
though she had something serious on her mind.  “Nica, would you like to go out to
the garden and visit with Shellie?”

“Yes, please,” Nica said.  “Is it okay,
Mana
?”

“Yes, Sweetie, it’s okay,” Honey said.  “You be a good girl though, and mind Shellie.”

“I will, I promise,” Nica said, already hurrying toward the glass doors that led out
to the garden. 

“Shall we go to the blue sitting room?” Berta asked.  Honey nodded, then followed
her Aunt through the house to the room they’d used when she’d examined Hope.  Once
they were seated, Berta folded her hands in her lap and waited for Honey to begin. 

“Aunt Berta, I need to tell you something,” she said.

Berta heard the seriousness in her voice and nodded slowly.  “You may tell me whatever
you like,” she said. 

“I asked Aisling not to tell you about me before I actually got here because there
are a lot of things about my life that are not what they appear to be.  You’re the
only real relative I have, and I didn’t want to tell you things that were...well...not
true.”  Honey got up and began pacing nervously.  “I wish that I could tell you everything,
Aunt Berta, really I do.  If it was only myself, I would.  But there are others involved,
and I’ve promised not to tell certain things.”

Berta frowned in confusion, but didn’t interrupt.

“All I can tell you right now is that I have some secrets, big secrets, and that I
will
share them with you.  All of them.  The moment I’m free to do it, I will.  I promise.”

“I understand,” Berta said.  “Don’t worry about it, Honey.  Whenever you want to talk,
I’ll be here.  And until then, I’ll still be here.  I don’t need to know all your
secrets.  I just need to know you, and Nica.”

Honey stopped pacing and hugged Berta tightly.  “Thank you,” she said softly.  “That
means so much to me.”

“Don’t you worry,” Berta said, patting her on the back.  “Everything’s going to be
just fine.  You have family now.  Don’t you forget that.”

“I won’t, Aunt Berta,” Honey replied as she released her and stepped back.  “Well,
I hate to run off so soon but I got a message that Doc wanted to see me this morning.”

“Really?” Berta asked.  “Do you know why?”

“No, I don’t,” Honey replied.  “I’m guessing he wants to thank me, which isn’t necessary. 
I’m fantasizing he wants to offer me a job.”

“If he did, would you take it?” Berta asked.

“Yes, I would,” Honey replied at once.  Then she dropped her eyes and turned to pick
up her purse.  “I’d have to talk to Michael about it first, of course.”

“Of course,” Berta replied, watching her niece thoughtfully for a moment. “Did Nica
tell you that I offered to ask Doc to lengthen her hair?”

“Yes, she did,” Honey replied, a little startled by the sudden change of subject. 
“I told her that I would allow it if the process is safe.”

“Why don’t the three of us go on down to the infirmary together,” Berta suggested. 
“You can check it out and if you approve, Nica can have her hair returned to its previous
length while you talk with Doc.”

“All right,” Honey agreed, brightening.  “Let me go get Nica.”

“I’ll meet you out front in a few moments,” Berta said.  She watched as Honey left
to find Nica then hurried to her own rooms for her purse.

***

The ranch garrison looked a lot like a small town with one main road lined with wood
and stone buildings on both sides.  The largest buildings were an armory, cafeteria,
and barracks.  There was also an inn, a restaurant, two supply stores, a couple of
training facilities, and a few buildings that looked new and vacant.  They drove down
the road between the two rows of buildings, then across a long, vacant area on both
sides before coming to three more buildings set apart from the rest.  These buildings
were made of stone, rather than wood, and were much larger than the rest.  The smallest
of the three was the military headquarters.  Beside that was the medical infirmary. 
On the far side of the infirmary was the new, imposing Research Center.

Berta parked the ground-car in a lot behind the buildings and they walked around to
the front where the main entrance, facing the gravel road, was located.  The whole
place had a cozy, old world village feeling that Honey liked.  Berta nodded in agreement
when she shared her thoughts.

“It’s nice, but it’s really a military garrison, not a town,” Berta explained.  “It
started as an office and barracks for the guards that come in to guard the Dracons’
ranch from the Xanti.  A few of the Arimas that have been found over the past couple
of years have chosen to live on the ranch since it’s the safest place on Jasan right
now.  Especially those with children.”

“And the Dracon Princes don’t mind?” Honey asked.

“No, not that I’ve noticed,” Berta replied.  “Whatever is necessary to protect the
Arimas, the
berezi
, and the children is fine with them.  For a very long time they had no Arimas, and
no female children.  Now that more Arimas are being found every day, the Jasani have
a chance to be a real people again.  And for reasons of their own, the Xanti are very
much against that.”

“That’s why there are no obstetricians trained specifically for Jasani, isn’t it?”
Honey guessed.

“Yes,” Berta said.  “Until Lariah Dracon had her daughters three years ago, there
hadn’t been a female Jasani in three thousand years.  She just gave birth to triplet
sons a couple of months ago.  All Jasani children are born in threes, whether the
mothers are Jasani women, or human women.”

“Bearing triplets is not unheard of for human women, of course, but it can be dangerous
for both the mother, and the infants,” Honey said.  “I can certainly see why good
obstetricians would be needed for that reason alone.”

“Yes, and more babies are coming all the time,” Berta said.  “Saige Lobo has three
daughters and, as you know, is currently pregnant with boys, Hope Bearen is pregnant
with daughters, and since the opening of Arima House about eight weeks ago, fourteen
berezi
have become Arimas.  It’s only a matter of time before those women need an obstetrician. 
There are several on Jasan, of course, but you’re exceptionally gifted.  I’m sure
you’d be more than welcome here.”

By the time Berta finished speaking they had reached the infirmary door and gone inside. 
They found themselves in a waiting area with several chairs and reader racks, and
a large reception desk with no one behind it. 

“Hello?” Berta called out.

“Come on back,” replied a male voice.

Berta gestured to Honey, who took Nica’s hand before they walked past the vacant desk
and down a hall with exam rooms on either side. 

“Here we are,” a man’s voice said just before he stepped into the hall a couple of
doors down.  The man had bushy white hair, a full mustache, and dark blue eyes.  He
wasn’t a very big man at all, maybe only an inch or two taller than Honey, and whip
thin.  Honey suspected he’d been present when she’d worked to save Saige Lobo’s sons,
but she didn’t remember him.

“Hello there, little one,” he said to Nica with a smile.

“Hello,” Nica replied.  “Are you Doc?”

“Yes, I am,” he replied.  “And who might you be?”

“My name is Monica but I like to be called Nica better,” she replied.  “Auntie Berta
said that you can make hair grow without hurting.”

“Yes, I can do that,” Doc replied.  “Is that what you want me to do?  Make your hair
long for you?”

“Yes, sir,” Nica replied.  “If
Mana
says it’s okay.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Doc,” Honey said.  “I apologize if I met you the other day
and don’t remember.”

“Nope,” Doc said.  “There wasn’t time for formalities.  Well, come on in, make yourselves
comfortable,” he said, standing aside to let them into the large room that looked
like a patient ward, though there were no patients.  There were several beds and more
advanced medical equipment than Honey had ever seen on Terien, though she’d seen as
much on Earth.

“This young lady is my friend and sometime assistant, Darleen Flowers,” he said, waving
toward a thin woman with very short light blonde hair and the most beautiful face
Honey had ever seen.  As Honey greeted the woman she noticed that her skin was covered
with fine white scars, and wondered what could possibly have caused them.

“If you don’t mind, Darleen will give Nica the hair treatment while you and I chat
a bit,” Doc said to Honey.

“Can you tell me what the hair treatment consists of?” Honey asked.  “I want to be
sure it’s safe for Nica.”

“I’m afraid it’s my own invention and I’m not ready to share my secret just yet,”
Doc said with a wink.  “However, I promise you I would never do anything that could
possibly be harmful to a patient.  Particularly a child.  Up to you though.  If you’d
rather not, then we can skip it.”

“It’s safe, Honey,” Berta said.  “As soon as Doc healed my arthritis he made my hair
long again.  I’d had to cut it short because my hands hurt too much to care for it. 
It doesn’t hurt, and has no side effects.”

“How long does it take?” Honey asked.

“Depends on how long she wants it,” Doc said.

“Her hair was very long...before.”  She paused and looked down at Nica, who was looking
up at her hopefully.

“Please,
Mana
,” she said.  Honey smiled and stroked Nica’s hair lightly.

“How about we just do a few inches to start with,” she compromised.  “After that,
we’ll see.”

“Sounds good to me,” Doc agreed.  He looked down at Nica.  “What do you think, little
lady?  Will a few inches make you happy?”

Nica nodded, suddenly shy, but when Darleen held out a hand to her, she took it and
walked easily alongside her to the other side of the room.