Her Commanders - M.K. Eidem Page 0,99

the lift. "I'll get you into Cali's quarters unseen. She's going to want to see both of you as soon as she recovers."

The panel closed just as the Meddygs rounded the curve.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

"You are going to be fine, Sub Commander," Lead Meddyg Ra told him, still not understanding how such a minor injury had produced so much blood. "But you need to come to Medical, so we can figure out why you lost so much blood."

"No," Taarig told him, closing his jacket. The only place he was going was to Cali.

"But Sub Commander," Ra began.

"I said, no!" Taarig stormed away from the Lead Meddyg to where Jamis stood near Nalo's remains. "Are you finished here?"

Jamis had contacted Security Specialist Wafai as soon as the Meddygs arrived, demanding to know why the alarm hadn't sounded when Nalo discharged his weapons.

"Nearly," Jamis looked back to Wafai, who was studying Nalo's disassembled weapons. "Well?"

"He interfaced the suppressor with the ventilation system on the flight deck," Wafai reported. "When Nalo fired the weapon, the system read it as normal engine functions; quite ingenious actually."

"We aren't anywhere near the flight deck," Jamis said through tight lips, not appreciating Wafai's admiration of what had nearly ended Taarig's life span.

"We are near an airlock," Wafai absently replied, still studying the weapons.

"Which has no ship attached!" Jamis growled. It was all he could do not to throttle his head of security.

Wafai finally realized just how enraged his Commander was and carefully stated, "The programmers overlooked that situation."

"Well, consider it now and get it corrected! Do you understand me, Wafai!"

"Yes, Commander."

Jamis turned to leave when his Lead Meddyg stopped him. "What do you want to be done with the body, Commander?"

What Jamis wanted to do was toss Nalo's body out the same airlock from which he'd ejected Cali. Something he was still struggling to deal with because Zagreus or not, Cali shouldn't have been able to survive that.

"Commander?" Ra urged.

"Take what's left of him back to Medical," Jamis bit out.

"I will do an intensive scan and examine his records to see if we can determine what caused him to end his span."

"Do that," Jamis growled. He told Lead Meddyg Ra they'd come upon Nalo, and Taarig got shot in an attempt to disarm Nalo. He knew Wafai questioned that. After all, who brought two weapons, equipped the way Nalo's were, to end their span? But he wouldn't bring those doubts up in front of others.

"Taarig, with me." With that, he and Taarig went to their Lalla.

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

"How many rukking secret passages are there in my Star Base?" Jamis swore as Xanto led them through the one he'd used after the viper attack.

Xanto smirked. "You'll have to be on the Wik Corp-approved list to know that."

"And you are," Jamis didn't make it a question.

"Yes, although I'm sure Cali will be more than willing to show them to you."

"I don't give a ruk about secret passages," Taarig growled at Xanto. "Where's Cali?"

"In here." Xanto gestured into a room where the door had just slid open.

Both males quickly entered the room, only to come to an abrupt halt.

Slowly, as if he were approaching something unknown, Taarig moved toward Cali. She was fully-submerged in a clear-sided tank filled with glowing fluid. Shimmering tendrils were moving around her naked body. Dropping to his knees, Taarig reached out to touch the tank, only to jerk his hand back when one of the tendrils thumped against it.

"It senses Cali's energy in you," Xanto told him quietly. "Every Zagreus has a unique power signature which you now carry."

"Because she healed him." Jamis found himself jealous that Taarig now carried a bit of Cali inside him. Unable to stop himself, Jamis reached out to run his fingers on the tank near Cali's cheek. To his surprise, a tendril brushed along the other side.

"Yes," Xanto agreed as his gaze focused on the tendril trying to connect with the Commander. It seemed Taarig wasn't the only one Cali had brought back from a life span-ending injury. Xanto'd wondered after the viper attack, but Jamis reacted contrary to those who had melded with a Zagreus.

"I wasn't aware the Zagreus had the power to heal." Taarig had been struggling to believe that Cali, his Lalla, was Zagreus, but seeing her in the tank made those doubts disappear.

"Few do," Xanto informed him. "I only know of one other that has that power."

"You've known Cali was Zagreus all along," Jamis accused, his head turning to Xanto.

"Of course," Xanto