signed up with one of the mission teams back
when Foster was being invaded. The Overseers fed on him. One of the few times
we had a body to identify. Mich blamed me.” Silence, while Bryan leaned his
head against the wall. “How am I different from them? The only solution I
reached for was violence. The sword. Not the scalpel.”
“I don’t know. A scalpel must look pretty nasty to a tumor.”
Bryan closed his eyes. “I just hope Mich is smart enough not
to get himself killed.”
“They’ll find him. Everything will be fine.” Adrienne said,
then smiled. “Or as fine as things can be, when they involve Mich.”
Bryan caressed her face, then kissed her. A gentle,
lingering thing that promised heat in the future, whole volcanic eruptions.
“You’re an optimist. I didn’t even know we made them like you anymore.”
“I have you.” She touched his face, then kissed him back.
“As long as that’s true, everything’s roses.”
*****
Now:
It didn’t tie her hands again. After she changed clothes, it
lead her back to its village. There was a path, one part beaten dirt, one part
O-tech, and one part human construction. That last part had left her a bit off
balance. The bridges and path supports she found were solid. The kind of work
you’d be proud of. Not the kind of thing you’d build for your scary alien
master, to make its preying on you easier.
“It isn’t far.” The Overseer said.
She hefted her pack. It held everything she thought she
might need. Food. Clean water, because if these unseen villagers were
willing to trade their lives for a water purification system the stuff in the
local water must be pretty awful. And speaking of that…she stepped over a
fallen log. “How much did the purification system help?”
The Overseer was having a much easier time of it. Its
not-leather clothes were barely dirty. “Infections decreased, but did not
stop.”
Well, it was probably in the water, then. With the
Overseer’s filtration system in place, she’d expect a decrease. But if the
villagers had gone without a purifier for a while they weren’t going to use the
clean stuff for washing and bathing. “How about symptoms?”
A shrug of black garbed shoulders. “High fever. Vomiting and
other digestive issues. A rash. Near the end, the rash bleeds.”
Huh. For an inhuman monster, that information was actually
helpful. “Is the rash onset symptom, or—” a tree branch tangled with her boots
and she went down. Grabbing for the nearest support, she found herself tangled
in the Overseer’s arms. Nematocyst teeth prickled against her skin. Trembling,
she looked into its dreadful face..
A solid wall of disgust rolled through her. Goddamn this
thing for taking her. Goddamn it for making her see it as something more than a
thing. And thrice-damn it for hurting people, good, innocent people, just
because it hungered.
Its lips twisted as if in pain. Her disgust must burn
against its mind. Good. She was getting some of her own back. “Give me the
formula corrections, and I will let you go.” It held her almost gently. The
prickling sensation withdrew.
Get out of my head. “Why do you want it?” she
whispered.
“So I can live.”
“You have a pulse. How many other people don’t because of
you?” She waited for an answer, past when it was obvious one would not come.
Slowly, it helped her stand on her own.
“As long as you haven’t shared your formula, I do not dare
harm you.”
She glared up at its terrible face. “Then let’s get this
over with.”
*****
Then:
“They found him.” Paige’s head stuck through the door to
Bryan’s office. The look on her face was a bit less than joyous. “He showed up
at Gaga in the fighter. According to Shawn’s man on the ground he looked like
he hadn’t slept in two days.”
Bryan sighed. “That fighter had subspace only. No jump
drive. He didn’t have enough time to go anywhere else. Thank God. What are they
going to do
when Foster was being invaded. The Overseers fed on him. One of the few times
we had a body to identify. Mich blamed me.” Silence, while Bryan leaned his
head against the wall. “How am I different from them? The only solution I
reached for was violence. The sword. Not the scalpel.”
“I don’t know. A scalpel must look pretty nasty to a tumor.”
Bryan closed his eyes. “I just hope Mich is smart enough not
to get himself killed.”
“They’ll find him. Everything will be fine.” Adrienne said,
then smiled. “Or as fine as things can be, when they involve Mich.”
Bryan caressed her face, then kissed her. A gentle,
lingering thing that promised heat in the future, whole volcanic eruptions.
“You’re an optimist. I didn’t even know we made them like you anymore.”
“I have you.” She touched his face, then kissed him back.
“As long as that’s true, everything’s roses.”
*****
Now:
It didn’t tie her hands again. After she changed clothes, it
lead her back to its village. There was a path, one part beaten dirt, one part
O-tech, and one part human construction. That last part had left her a bit off
balance. The bridges and path supports she found were solid. The kind of work
you’d be proud of. Not the kind of thing you’d build for your scary alien
master, to make its preying on you easier.
“It isn’t far.” The Overseer said.
She hefted her pack. It held everything she thought she
might need. Food. Clean water, because if these unseen villagers were
willing to trade their lives for a water purification system the stuff in the
local water must be pretty awful. And speaking of that…she stepped over a
fallen log. “How much did the purification system help?”
The Overseer was having a much easier time of it. Its
not-leather clothes were barely dirty. “Infections decreased, but did not
stop.”
Well, it was probably in the water, then. With the
Overseer’s filtration system in place, she’d expect a decrease. But if the
villagers had gone without a purifier for a while they weren’t going to use the
clean stuff for washing and bathing. “How about symptoms?”
A shrug of black garbed shoulders. “High fever. Vomiting and
other digestive issues. A rash. Near the end, the rash bleeds.”
Huh. For an inhuman monster, that information was actually
helpful. “Is the rash onset symptom, or—” a tree branch tangled with her boots
and she went down. Grabbing for the nearest support, she found herself tangled
in the Overseer’s arms. Nematocyst teeth prickled against her skin. Trembling,
she looked into its dreadful face..
A solid wall of disgust rolled through her. Goddamn this
thing for taking her. Goddamn it for making her see it as something more than a
thing. And thrice-damn it for hurting people, good, innocent people, just
because it hungered.
Its lips twisted as if in pain. Her disgust must burn
against its mind. Good. She was getting some of her own back. “Give me the
formula corrections, and I will let you go.” It held her almost gently. The
prickling sensation withdrew.
Get out of my head. “Why do you want it?” she
whispered.
“So I can live.”
“You have a pulse. How many other people don’t because of
you?” She waited for an answer, past when it was obvious one would not come.
Slowly, it helped her stand on her own.
“As long as you haven’t shared your formula, I do not dare
harm you.”
She glared up at its terrible face. “Then let’s get this
over with.”
*****
Then:
“They found him.” Paige’s head stuck through the door to
Bryan’s office. The look on her face was a bit less than joyous. “He showed up
at Gaga in the fighter. According to Shawn’s man on the ground he looked like
he hadn’t slept in two days.”
Bryan sighed. “That fighter had subspace only. No jump
drive. He didn’t have enough time to go anywhere else. Thank God. What are they
going to do
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