“Thank you,” I said with sincere gratitude. Jessica winked at me and squeezed my upper arm in a gesture of encouragement.
As we headed out of the Infirmary, my heart filled with affection for our pilot Thanh who had busied herself filling a portable cooler with a variety of cut raw meats, matching the ones Stran enjoyed most. We made our way to the entrance of the secret base. I placed the probe on top of one of the rocks surrounding the opening and, using the remote control, Doom guided it down the shaft. Madeline fired up the holographic display of the probe’s camera feed.
Halfway down, Doom initiated the default warning message of the probe.
“Message incoming,” the synthetic voice of the device broadcast inside the lab.
It paused for five seconds before repeating the message in that same loop. The probe reached the ground floor, where my body had fallen. It was nowhere to be seen, but tracks of blood down the hallway hinted that it had been dragged away. I didn’t want to speculate as to what had become of my former body.
At a glance, the base was in an even worse state than I had presumed. Judging by the scarcity of ventilation and maintenance membranes left, it was a miracle any type of life support remained.
I realized my hearts had been racing, and that I’d been holding my breath only when the door at the end of the hallway finally opened. The head of the female Creckel that had seemed to lead the pack appeared first, spying for the source of the sound before she fully came out. Seconds later, my female fearfully stepped out, her other companions tagging along.
My hearts soared with joy, while my stomach knotted at the visible signs of the hardships she had endured. Barefoot, swallowed up in a beyond used lab coat, she carefully approached and stopped at least twenty meters away from the probe. Despite her ragged and starved appearance, my female was beautiful. Once I had nursed her back to health, the long strands of her blonde hair would delicately frame her thin, oval face where two large, dark brown—almost black—eyes stared at the device with worry.
Doom activated the recorded message. My woman gasped and slightly recoiled upon seeing the life-sized, holographic projection of Doom, who immediately began to speak. The Creckels, who had immediately taken a battle stance, slowly relaxed as the recording played on. But something was off. My mate kept blinking as if the image was blinding her. Noticing it as well, Doom tweaked the brightness and contrast from the remote control, but it didn’t seem to help.
My female fumbled with the half-torn pocket of her outfit and pulled out something which she pressed to each side of her temples. Whatever it had been, she winced within seconds and quickly removed it, seeming in intense pain.
“Zoom in on her face,” Jessica ordered her Warrior.
Doom complied, and his Soulcatcher’s curses echoed the ones that tumbled out of my mouth. Some kind of implant ports on her temples, probably for an old optical aid, were clearly swollen, inflamed, and likely infected.
“This girl needs some urgent medical attention,” Jessica said, the worry in her voice only heightening mine. “I’ll be right back. Wait for me before you go in.”
Without giving me a chance to respond, she spun on her heels and ran towards the ship.
I turned my attention back to the camera feed. The modified Creckels’ reaction to seeing Stran’s holographic projection was heartbreaking. They emitted a keening somewhat similar to the one he had made, and Stran became agitated again, his broad, flat tail tapping the ground with enthusiasm.
By the time the message finished, and Doom asked permission for us to come down, the disbelieving look of hope of my woman had my hearts shredded to pieces.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Please, yes!” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper even though she seemed to be attempting to project.
She stumbled forward and tapped frantically on the button to confirm she wanted us to come.
“Give me the remote,” I ordered Doom.
He complied without a word, and I promptly activated the com device on it.
“I will be there shortly,” I said in my kindest voice. “Please, do not be afraid.”
She nodded, her gaze flicking up the shaft. I cursed inwardly, looking over my shoulder at the ship, wondering what the heck our Medical Officer was up to.
“Jessica!” I mind-spoke to her.
“Coming. Just one second!” she telepathically replied.
I was about to give up waiting for her when she came rushing out, carrying another small bag. She stopped in front of me a little out of breath and started sticking a couple of devices in my weapons belt.
“I want you to run a scan over her, especially around her temples, and then take some blood samples,” Jessica ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. “Send the results back as soon as possible so that I can start working on a medical protocol for her. I need her in the Infirmary yesterday.”
“We’ll work on opening that passage while you look after your woman,” Doom said.
I nodded once more in gratitude then proceeded down the shaft. The passage was too narrow for me to hold the food crate in my arms. I squeezed through the opening first, then hovered in place while my teammates lowered the crate for me. Holding it with one arm, I unhooked it with my free hand from its cable before beginning my descent.
My mating glands immediately awakened again. They throbbed and swelled as I approached the ground floor. My female and the Creckels had scurried back. As soon as I landed, fear and confusion appeared on my woman’s face. She cast a furtive glance at the female Creckel that seemed to lead the others. The psychic energy swirling between them confirmed my female was mind-speaking with the creature, who nodded in response to whatever she’d been asked.
“You… You can’t be here. You died! Your body…”
She glanced towards one of the side doors of the hallway, not the back one where she’d come out of.
“I have Gomenzi Dragon blood,” I explained gently. “It allows me to be reborn into a new Shell… a new body. All is well. I am unharmed.”
She stared at me with an indefinable expression. She clearly wanted to move forward, likely to reassure herself I was real, while also itching to run and hide.
“My name is Reaper,” I said in a soft voice, while carefully placing the crate of meat on the ground. “What are you called?”
“Ja… Janelle,” she said with obvious difficulty and slightly wavering on her legs.
“That’s a beautiful name,” I said, fighting the urge to rush to her. “Aside from the Creckels, is there anyone else here with you that might need assistance?”
She shook her head, her eyes narrowing as she clearly struggled to see me.
I crouched next to the crate and slowly opened it. “Okay. There is fresh meat here for your companions,” I said, before stepping away from it.
As expected, the Creckels keened again, becoming restless with the need to come get the food, but forcing themselves to hold back. Many cast inquisitive, almost pleading glances towards their female leader and Janelle. The female slowly approached the crate, and I moved further away to give her space. She sniffed the air, and a raw hunger descended on her features. But I didn’t waste any more time on the Creckels. My woman needed help, now.
“You are severely dehydrated and undernourished,” I said to my mate, while slowly opening one of the bags slung around my neck and hanging on my hip. I pulled out one of the bottles of water with salt and glucose Jessica had prepared. “This will help you with both. May I approach you?”