Vall's Will (3 page)

She slowly
reached out until her fingertips touched the freezing cold metal cuffs. Vall’s
eyes darted from what she was doing, to her face, and back, in rapid succession.
It appeared he was willing to trust her, but as to how far, she had yet to
discover. Apparently her revealing her humanity had been the right decision,
although it was a reaction she had never resorted to before in her career, or
her lifetime.

Rather than
rewrap her entire arm in her shield, she opted for just her hand. Bringing his
arm out toward her, she reached over with her weapon and drew a line of plasma
with one finger. The metal dissolved almost instantly. The cuff broke apart
with a snap.

Will smiled up
at the man. “One down, one to go.”

Without her
urging, he presented his other arm to her. The other cuff was dissolved within
seconds, followed by the ones around his ankles. Vall threw the chains to the
floor with a look of disgust.

She winced to
see the bruised skin and old scars evident on his wrists and legs. A couple of
spots appeared to be festering. There was no telling how much longer the man
would have been able to survive in these conditions.

She
straightened, or tried to. The ceiling was too low for her to stand up.

“Vall,
come.” She remained barely a meter away from him with her hand
outstretched. Slowly, and with much hesitation, Vall uncurled himself until his
feet touched the floor.

He was
completely nude, and in the glow from their auras, from what she could see
underneath the unbelievable filth, his whole body was marked with bruises and
scars. His hair hung in thick, clotted strands down to his waist. He had no
beard or facial hair, which automatically eliminated him as being one of the
Terran species of humanoids. Taking a deep breath, she tried not to gag, and
gestured again as she took a step backwards.

“Vall,
come.”

He finally
stood. As she’d suspected, he was taller than her, meaning he had to bend at
the waist. Even hunched over, his shoulders brushed the ceiling.

She continued to
retreat from the cargo area, calling to him and gesturing for him to follow.
Vall’s gaze never wavered from his face as he left the bay. Once they were
outside of the container, the young man straightened. He watched as Will’s men
moved closer, but his initial fear seemed to have diminished for the moment.

“Peersoff,
follow us back to the ship. Plymon, I want you and Gorin to go ahead. I don’t
want him to feel threatened. He’s been terrified long enough.”

Plymon started
to turn around and leave when Granth’s strident yell through their shields
froze them in their tracks.

“Self-destruct
has activated!”

Everyone took
off running for the upper levels and the exit. Will grabbed Vall’s hand, but
the man was already half-dragging her as he hurried to remain behind the
Sub-captain. She had no chance to wonder how he knew about the danger.

“How long
before it goes?” she yelled.

“Now!”

There was no
time to think. The ship was detonating around them. The only way they could
survive would be to draw their armor completely around them and ride it out.

“Get my
ship away!”
Will screamed. She launched herself at the young man and
tackled him to the floor. Pressing her body tightly against his, she barely had
time to encapsulate them both within her aura when the Objurian ship went
incandescent. Like a star going nova, they were surrounded by a white light so
intense, she felt as if her retinas were being burned through her tightly shut
eyelids. There was the sensation of incredible heat, and a sound that could
have ruptured her eardrums, that lasted for nearly a dozen breaths.

To be followed
by a star-filled darkness and blessed silence.

Chapter Three

Discovery

Will continued
to clutch Vall firmly against her as the space ship disintegrated around them.
Any time he moved or struggled, she shushed him and gathered him more tightly
in her embrace, keeping their bodies as close as possible.

“Don’t
move. My shield is stretched beyond my normal self. The barest increase in the
amount of distance separating us could rip it, and we’d both die together in
space. Don’t move, Vall. Keep still. You’re safe as long as you stay
motionless.”

Her cheek was
pressed to his dirty chest. Her forehead lay just beneath his throat. But all
she could feel was how cold his skin was, and she wondered again at the miracle
of his survival.

Bits and pieces
of the Objurian craft slammed against her shield, without any harm to them.
Every time a chunk ricocheted off, Vall jerked. She closed her eyes to prevent
herself from having the same reaction, and concentrated on keeping the man
firmly wrapped in her arms. She could hear his rapid breathing and the sound of
his heartbeat as it pounded furiously. He was terrified, and she couldn’t do a
thing to calm him except with her words. Fortunately, the translator worked
since they were both inside her aura.

It felt strange
but oddly pleasant to feel the length of her body aligned against his. With her
hands flat against his back, she thought she could detect ridges or scars
running along his spine. A couple felt sticky to the touch. He flinched at her
probing, silently letting her know the wounds were still painful.

He had his arms
around her shoulders. Every so often she could feel a hand travel over her
back, where it gently stroked her. At one point, a hand moved upward, lightly
caressing her neck as his fingers touched her short hair. But he had yet to
make a sound.

She could feel slight
movement as he turned his head to watch everything disintegrate into
nothingness. Through the aura’s misty haze, she could see the Objurian ship
reduce itself to minute bits and particles, until space around them was
littered with a cloud of tiny debris from the enormous craft. Once the fury of
the explosion was expended, she called to her crew.

“Captain
here. Outbound crew, report!”

“Plymon
here.”

“Peersoff
here.”

“Gorin
here.”

She breathed a
mental sigh of relief. Already she could hear the rhythm of Vall’s heart
slowing, as well as his breathing. His large hands continued to roam across her
back.

“Captain,
the prisoner?”

“I have
him,” she informed them. “But he’s in need of emergency medical care.
I need pickup immediately.”

“On our
way, Captain,” Magnus informed her.

In less time
than she could count, the familiar outline of the
Trinity of Hope
emerged from the dust cloud and advanced toward her. It approached from below,
gradually adjusting itself until the hull hovered just beneath her feet. She looked
over the nearly seamless exterior for the airlock.

“I’m
holding onto Vall. We can’t approach the doorway like this. We’re going to
need―”

“Right
beside you, Captain,” a voice spoke behind her. It was Peersoff, offering
to help them into the ship. She thanked him, and he, along with Plymon,
half-carried, half-guided her and Val to the entrance, setting them on the
large circular base.

“I’m
grounded,” she told them. “Lower us in. Have Killjorn meet us in the
docking bay.”

The platform
lowered itself into the ship and into the wide airlock chamber. When it settled
them on deck, a second panel slid shut above them, and the chamber filled with
oxygen. Will waited for the signal that it was safe to lower her shield. Vall’s
eyes widened in surprise when the mistiness around them evaporated, and she
took his hand to lead him out of the chamber. “We have to let my men
in,” she informed him.

As each man
reentered the ship, Vall watched closely, especially when the outer shields
were disturbed, revealing the person inside. Plymon was the last to be lowered
into the airlock chamber. By the time he was ready to emerge, the ship’s
physician had joined them in the docking bay.

Killjorn started
upon seeing the young man sitting on the floor, legs crisscrossed in front of
him and hands tucked under his armpits. The older woman gave Will a stern look.

“Do you
know how close you came to dying out there? One wrong move, and you could have
shredded your armor.”

Will snapped
back. “There was no time to think, much less time to order one of the men
to grab him. I was closest, anyway. Besides…” She flashed the doctor a
warm smile and winked. “It’s done and over. How are the Anglites
doing?”

“Fine.
Fine. I’ve turned them over to Gayt.” The woman nodded as she continued to
stare at Vall, scrutinizing him from top to toe. “This one’s humanoid. I
take it he was the last prisoner?”

“Actually,
no.” Plymon stepped forward. “There were others, but the explosion
took them before we could.”

“I’ve never
heard of the Ben Objure rigging their ships to detonate.” Peersoff moved
up to join them after ordering Gorin to return to security. “Maybe it’s
something new they’ve taken to doing.”

“Or maybe
it’s specific to just the queen ship,” Will wondered aloud. She bent down
where Killjorn was giving Vall a closer visual examination. Maybe it was
because the physician was female that Vall allowed her to touch him. Will
watched as Killjorn moved his nearly skeletal arms and legs to get a better
view of his torso. An expression of sadness crossed the doctor’s face. Before
Will could inquire what she was thinking, Killjorn sighed loudly.

“He’s
terribly emaciated. I’m willing to bet he’s also dehydrated and full of all
kinds of nastiness the Objurians injected into him.”

“You want
to talk about nasty? You should have seen his cell.”

 
The physician wrinkled her nose. “Hey,
young man.”

“His name
is Vall,” Will told her.

“Vall.”
Killjorn held out a hand. “Come with me. I need to get a good look inside
you. I bet a bowl of warm soup and a hot shower would make you feel better,
too.”

Vall stared at
Killjorn’s outstretched hand for a moment, then he looked at Will. The
expression on his face was eloquent. Giving him a small smile, Will held out
her hand to him instead. She wasn’t surprised when he took it, and she helped
him to his feet.

“It appears
he wants me to stay with him, at least until he feels comfortable enough to let
me go.”

“Captain,
we need to debrief,” Magnus informed her over the intercom.

“I agree.
Let’s all gather in medical. Gayt?”

“Here, Captain!”

“I need you
in medical. We have an unknown humanoid as our guest, and I need your
help.”

“On my
way,” the scientist replied.

Lacing her
fingers through his, she led Vall out of the landing bay, with the rest of the
crew in tow. The rescued man remained silent, but he examined every aspect of
the ship along the route. Each door panel, corridor offshoot, and crew member
who walked by and acknowledged their captain in passing, were all given the
same short but intense scrutiny.

Will noticed how
he continued to walk hunched over. In the brighter light, his filthy appearance
stood out. For the first time, further evidence of his imprisonment was clear
to see, including the prominent ribs, the lack of muscular strength and
coordination, and the almost death-white skin stretched over his shoulders and
collarbones. A quick glance behind him verified what she had felt earlier. He
had been brutalized. Vall glanced over at her. His obvious trust in her tugged
at her heart.

“Don’t
worry,” she said, smiling up at him as they neared the medical unit.
“We’re going to make you well, and then we’ll get you back to your home
world.”

To her delight,
he finally managed to lift the corners of his mouth. It was a smile,
short-lived and trembling, but a smile nonetheless.

By the time they
reached the clinic, Vall was showing signs of exhaustion. Without waiting for
Killjorn to motion toward the examination bed, he collapsed onto it and
stretched out. He appeared surprised to feel the bed adjusting to his size,
adding enough padded length at the foot to accommodate his height.

Will stood back
as the warm air flowed over him, followed by strands of soft molecules that
solidified to become a blanket. Underneath him, the computers ran a thorough
exam, including a DNA scan.

A young woman
entered. She carried a small unit in her hand, which she quickly plugged into
the med lab’s console.

“What’s the
latest on our Anglites?” Will inquired.

“Nicely
settled into their cabin,” the xenobiologist answered. “I’ve equipped
them with proper nutrition, and I’ve added a few modifications to make their
trip as pleasant as possible until we arrive at the Vinestri Prime Cluster.
Granth has notified their home world of their rescue and return.” The
petite woman looked over at her. “Their people are elated. Seems this
father and his two daughters are very important officials.”

A blue light
glowed at the base of the unit. Gayt shook her head. “Killy, I don’t like
these readings.”

“Neither do
I,” the doctor commented, studying her monitor.

Will immediately
sent a mental order to stop all translations. The last thing she wanted was to
alarm Vall. The man had already been through too much. By this time, everyone
was present inside the clinic.

“What have
you found?”

“A lot of
damage, for one thing, but nothing that time, proper nutrition, and a little
kindness won’t undo. Data estimates his body is the equivalent of a
twenty-eighty to thirty year-old male, but that’s not what bothers me.”
Killjorn glanced at Gayt. “Us.”

Gayt nodded and
handed her diagnostic unit to Will, who examined the readings.

“What am I
looking at?” Will asked.

The scientist
pointed to a little blue line running along the bottom of the screen.
“That.”

“Be more
specific.”

“It means
this man isn’t humanoid.”

Several people
gasped. Magnus chuckled. “So what is he? A shape shifter?”

Gayt shrugged.
“Possibly, but if that was the case, I would be getting some kind of
reading other than a flat line.”

Killjorn added a
guess. “Parasite?”

“No. Definitely
not a parasitic relationship, although one thing is clear, however. What we’re
looking at is not the real deal. It’s a shell, much like our shields we erect
around us.”

“How can
that be? I heard his heart beating. I heard him breathing,” Will argued.

“Maybe it’s
part of the disguise, to make others believe that what they’re seeing is the
real him.”

“So, what
you’re saying is that the real Vall is inside?” Will clarified.

“Yes.”

“Can what’s
inside have the same appearance as what he appears to be on the outside?”

Again, the
scientist appeared puzzled. “It’s possible. At this point, I can’t tell
you anything further until we run more tests on him.”

“Have you
at least gotten everything you need?” Plymon interjected. “The man
needs to do some serious cleaning up. This place is starting to smell.”

Vall reached
out, seeking her hand. Will gave it to him, giving his a squeeze to reassure
him. He was aware he was not being allowed to listen in on their conversation,
and their discussion was beginning to worry him.

“Plymon’s
right. Gayt, can you ready a cabin for him?”

“Will do,
Captain.” She hurried out of the lab just as Granth called over the
intercom.

“Captain
Tayte?”

“Here.”

“I was able
to glean a little more information about our newest guest.”

“What have
you found?”

“Well, for
one thing, Vall isn’t his real name.”

Killjorn
snorted. “How apropos. An unreal name for an unreal humanoid.”

Will gave the
physician a condescending look. “What is his real name?” she asked.

“I don’t
know, and from what I can decipher, the Ben Objure didn’t, either.”

“So, why is
he listed as Vall?”

“Vall is
the Objurian word for it. He was an
it
to them. But here’s the kicker. I
also found out how long he’s been on that ship.”

“How
long?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“Since he was
nine years old.”