3013: CLAIMED (5 page)

“I am.”

“What the hell is
xili
?” Jax demanded.

Arik let out a sigh, then shifted his position so he could address everyone. They were in a private room in the medical center, which was good since the less people that had the information he was about to give, the better. Everyone in the room had been implanted with the language converter chip that allowed them to understand the different languages of the races, but then again, so had most of the medical staff in the center.

Director Dominic Stryker may have been the lowest ranking member in the room, but Arik trusted him implicitly. When Arik sent him a look, Dom nodded and strode over to the door and shut it, ensuring privacy for their conversation. Regents Spartan and Wyland-Ross, as well as High Commander Newgate could be trusted. It helped that Arik could pick up on nuances of someone’s character when he touched them, so he was assured of that.

The D’Aire had the ability to slip into someone’s mind and do a scan, although it was against their code to do so without permission. Still, for an older D’Aire like Arik, it was almost impossible not to pick up impressions just being around someone. Sensing Serra’s tumultuous emotions, Arik had felt something else in the chaos.

Something that he hadn’t sensed in years, and it disturbed him to a level he couldn’t even begin to describe.

Sensing the impatience flowing off of Jax and Archer, Arik knew it was time for answers. “I believe I need to begin with some background to explain this. Years ago, before the D’Aire knew of Earth, we had made contact with the Helios when we traveled to Helix. Although they had welcomed us and we have good relations with them still, there were things back then that were…troubling to us.”

“Troubling how?” High Commander Newgate asked.

“As you now know, it is a world that is primarily jungle, and its people are wild. No matter how civilized they seem, there is a feral quality to them if provoked. That feral quality also applies to their home world. Their jungle is not some place you ever want to venture unescorted. Back then there were also several plant specimens that worried us when we saw the affects of them at work. Over time, most of those have been eradicated, but there are always a few that slip through the cracks. I sense something in Serra that I haven’t felt in a very long time. If I’m right, she has been tainted with
xili
.”

“It’s a mind-altering drug used to implant suggestions into the user,” Serra explained before anyone could ask. “I’ve studied it. I’ve read a lot about different flora and fauna species of the planets I’ve visited, but I’ve never taken
xili
. Especially not after knowing the side effects of the drug. That is to say, if I could even find it. Even then, I wouldn’t take it.”

“Not knowingly,” Jax said, his voice deadly quiet. He focused his steel-grey eyes on Arik. “You’re saying you think someone fucked with her mind, aren’t you? How can you tell?”

“Only the D’Aire are able to sense the void left in someone who has been tainted by
xili
.”

“Why weren’t we told about your ability if this drug is a threat to us?” Regent Wyland-Ross demanded.

“It isn’t something that is commonly known, and we have thought the drug had been destroyed long ago.”

“Apparently, you were wrong,” High Commander Newgate said, then he sighed. “This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions if there has been a resurgence of this damn drug.”

“This is a nightmare,” Regent Wyland-Ross agreed. “We’re already dealing with a crisis with the stealth technology, now this? We could all be in danger.”

“Well, it’s not like that is anything new. Why would today be any different?” Archer asked.

Regent Wyland-Ross was not amused. “This isn’t a joke, Commander Archer.”

“Of course it isn’t, but I wouldn’t feel normal if someone wasn’t trying to kill me on a daily basis,” Archer added dryly. “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself otherwise.”

“You have a very twisted sense of humor, Archer,” Regent Spartan said, frowning.

“He always did,” Serra said, smiling up at him.

Regent Spartan shook his head at them. “We need to have a meeting with Ambassador Tala of Helix and Ambassador M’Dor about this. This could damage all our species if someone is using this to control people.”

Arik nodded. “It would be recommended. Ambassador M’Dor would be well aware of the ramifications.”

“What does this mean for Serra? Is this dangerous for her?” Jax asked, gripping Serra’s hand in his as if he wanted to shield her from anything that would dare harm her.

“I know you called me here to ask me to perform a truth test, but there is a way to counteract the drug…”

“Then do it,” Archer ordered.

“It isn’t that simple. I can aid you,” Arik said softly to Serra. “But only if you consent to it, and you must be sure. You would have to let me do a mind scan so we can discover what was done to you. It will be difficult for both of us, but it could be very dangerous if you fight me.”

Serra struggled to understand what Arik was telling her. Logic. She was good at logic, and she stamped down her own emotions so she could focus on what needed to be done. “Do it.”

“Wait a damn minute,” Jax demanded. “If this could be dangerous—”

“I won’t fight him,” Serra said. “I need to do this. If someone messed with my head, I want to know. I
need
to know. I always knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what it was. I’ve been to medical for tests before, and they could never find anything, but I knew. Every time I think of you and Sully my head hurts. That’s not normal, Jax.”

Jax let out a vicious curse. “I’m going to be very pissed if something happens to you.”

“Gee, you pissed?” Archer said drolly. “What would that be like?”

Jax glared at him, but Serra surprised them both by laughing. “You two haven’t changed a bit.”

“We need the room cleared if we’re going to do this,” Arik ordered softly.

“We stay,” Jax said in a low voice, daring him to argue.

Instead, Arik nodded. “As her bonded, you and Archer should remain, but everyone else will have to go. That is, if you accept them as your bonded.”

Serra looked at Jax and Sully, and smiled despite the pain her head. “I do.”

“Dom, this will take all my energy and I will need you to help me after.”

“Done.”

“We’ll go set up that meeting with the Ambassadors,” Regent Spartan said. Before he left, he moved to the bed and lightly touched his fingers to the back of Serra’s hand that Jax held. “Welcome to our family, my dear. We’re very happy to have you.”

“Thank you,” Serra replied, emotions making her voice waver.

After the regents and High Commander Newgate left the room, Archer turned back to Arik. “So, how do you do this?”

“I will need to follow Serra back into her memories to find out when she was tainted. Once the memory is retrieved, any affects should dissipate.”

“Should? As in there is no guarantee this will work?”

“Things such as this rarely come with a guarantee. Going into someone else’s mind is difficult to do when the individual isn’t the Keeper of a D’Aire. This is why it is rarely done.”

“Is there a risk to you doing this?” Dom demanded. He shot a hand out to stop Archer from speaking. “I have been entrusted with his safety while he’s on Earth. I get that you want to help your woman, but we can’t put a goddamn D’Aire Ambassador in jeopardy either.”

“I’ll be fine. This is my choice.”

“Serra, are you sure you want to do this?” Jax asked.

“Positive.”

Arik placed a hand on Jax’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, my friend, but neither of you can touch her while we do this. I cannot risk getting readings from you as well.”

Archer leaned down and brushed his lips against the claiming mark near Serra’s eye. “Even if we can’t touch you, we are with you.”

“I know.”

Serra smiled at Archer as he moved back to stand next to Dom at the end of the bed. Jax gripped her chin, turning her head toward him. There was a fire burning in his grey eyes that made her belly flutter with nerves while her head pounded with pain. “We will fix this.”

“That’s what I’m hoping. It really sucks feeling like my head is going to explode all the time.”

“Think about us that often do you?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He eyes narrowed with determination. “It will be done. Whatever it takes, we’ll find a way to make you better.” With that, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss so tender it brought tears to her eyes.

Serra felt pain shoot into her head, but held onto Jax when he tried to pull back. This was her first real kiss. Pain be damned, she wanted his lips on hers. He gently removed her hands from where they were gripping his uniform jacket, and pulled back to stroke his fingers lightly over the tattoo of their initials. She watched his eyes flicker with agony as he let go of her, then watched them harden as he signaled to Arik.

“We are trusting you with her.”

“Understood. We will need complete silence while we do this.”

“We won’t bother you. We would never risk her, or you. Thank you for this.”

Arik smiled. “You may thank me after we know it has worked.”

Gripping her hands together so she wouldn’t fidget, Serra forced herself to remain still. Her mind was churning with thousands of thoughts. Logic, she told herself again. She needed to approach this exercise logically. It was the only way she would get through this.

Arik sat down on the bed beside her, those patient iridescent eyes calming her again. “I need you to relax. Calm your mind, and let me lead you where we need to go.”

“I’m sorry, I’m nervous,” she blurted out. “I’m a woman of science. I know about the things your people are capable of, but I have a difficult time understanding how you can lead me anywhere in my mind.”

“We are going to travel back through your memories to retrieve what you have lost. There is a memory hidden there of when you were tainted with the
xili.
Once we see what really happened, whatever suggestion was put in place will no longer be effective.”

Her lips pursed in anger at the thought that someone had done that to her. “Let’s do this then.”

Arik reached out and placed three fingers on each side of her head over her temples. Looking into his glowing blue eyes she felt like she was drowning for a moment. Suddenly, it was as if she were thrown back into time. A million thoughts shifted through her brain at light speed, making her throat burn with the need to scream out as the pain in her head increased.

Then it stopped.

Serra found herself drifting through her own memories, back through the years as Arik searched for the blank spot he’d sensed. It wasn’t like thinking back on something that had happened before. No, this was like seeing her own memories through Arik’s eyes. It was strange. Left her feeling off-balance and unsettled. Pushing aside her own emotional response, she tried to pay attention to what she was seeing in a clinical manner and let him lead the way.

The images had a weird feel to them, as if she were looking through a camera that was slightly out of focus. She was fascinated by the experience, then a jolt shot through her as she realized exactly what she was seeing.

It was her, sitting in some sort of chair in a dark room. There were straps attached to her wrists and ankles, holding her tied to the chair so she couldn’t move. She was young, so young. Serra could tell she was around seventeen, but she had no memory of the scene.

That terrified her.

“
Calm,
” Arik whispered softly into her head.

She held onto the sound of his voice like she would have a life preserver at sea, reminding herself that she was not alone. She surveyed the room her younger self was in, and shock filled her to see she was in some sort of castle made of dark stone. She glanced at the wide window, out at the black sky that was filled with clouds that turned a hot, searing red as lightning crackled through the air. Red and black sky…there was only one place that she knew of had a red and black sky, but she had never been there.

Not that she remembered.

Known as the Dark Planet, Tartarus sat at the edge of Alliance regulated space. Aptly named for its frequent electrical storms and volatile inhabitants, Tartarus was a hostile world. The Tarins were known as the Lords of War, and were a barbaric, demon-like race that fed off the energy of others. They lived off the blood-lust they got when in battle, or the energy and strength they received during sexual release.

These energy vampires existed under a feudal system. Centuries ago, the Tarins had gone to war with Earth, but their swords were no match for humans and their more advanced weaponry. For years after the war, the Tarins had closed off their planet, choosing to remain isolated instead of allow interference of any other species. Now, the Tarins held a tentative truce with the Alliance, although they were still considered a hostile ally. The Alliance traded with the Tarins for a mineral they had on their planet that was used for high-powered jump drives installed in Alliance space vessels.

Because the Tarins were still fighting a civil war, all visitors were carefully documented. There was only one Alliance colony on Tartarus, nicknamed the Hades Outpost, and it was almost impossible to get clearance to visit the planet. There was a faction of lords who prided themselves on their harems of slaves, while the other half fought for the equality needed to officially have a treaty with the Alliance.

It was a dangerous place to be, and Serra had a hard time reconciling that she had ever been there. She knew that people often tried to visit the planet due to the Tarins reputation for sexual prowess. Sex with a Tarin was supposed to be extremely intense, but anyone was at risk of disappearing into the dark void, never to be seen again. Kidnapping and slavery were still alarming issues that would only be stopped once the civil war came to an end.

“Are you sure about this?”

Serra’s attention turned to the deep voice of the man who had spoken. No, not a man. This was a Tarin male. He stood at a little over seven feet tall and his eyes were completely black, making them look like deep pits of darkness set in his face. He was dressed in all black, and she could see he was muscular despite the black armor-like plate he wore over his broad chest.