Chaos Theory (32 page)

Kenshin’s thoughtful expression shifted to one of focus as his
mind worked through various scenarios. “We’ll use the BioScan. If
the damage appears too great I’ll use a laser to repair the injury
… if I can.” His eyes pinged from Blue’s overwrought face to Kali’s
wan one. “Omicron, please understand–”

“
You don’t know if she can survive because of what they did to
her,” Blue finished. “Don’t worry. No matter the outcome, I will
lay blame on no one but myself.”

Kenshin gave him a pained look. “Let’s get her to the medical
bay. Her other injuries can be healed by the FixMe easily enough.”
He placed two fingers to Kali’s throat concerned her pulse was
erratic, too fast.

Blue took that for the bad sign it was, and ran, trying all
the while to keep from jarring Kali’s damaged body too
badly.

The Novan ship was grown from crystal. Each floor plan was
different, but the vessel itself was no more than three thousand
feet in circumference. They travelled towards the centre, and it
took them minutes to reach the medical bay.

They reached the fogged doors, and Lara shoved Christabella
out of the way when the girl bounced in front of them, waiting for
them to open.

“
I thought there would be motion sensors,” Christabella
muttered blushing hotly. “They’re supposed to be advanced alien
life. How was I supposed to know automatic doors were a stretch too
far?”

“
Lazy Humans,” Lara muttered as the door dissipated.

Igor touched Christabella’s shoulder in comfort. Max eyed the
contact with a curl of his lip, and Christabella shifted away from
the Hybrid. Igor’s face flickered with hurt, but he masked it
quickly.

Max lay Madeleine down in the corridor. “Baby, stay and
protect Maddie, yeah? Keep her warm.”

The FetchMe lay beside the sleeping child and placed her head
onto her paws, her non-blinking eyes swearing to keep her safe from
harm.

Seeing this, the snow leopard chuffed and rubbed her face into
her master’s hand.

“
My Natalya,” Igor rumbled with a gentle stroke of his finger
to his FetchMe’s crown, his other arm wrapped around Creighton’s
legs to keep him secure. “You stay here and help the evil tiger
protect the little one, yes? Keep eyes on the wolf,” he added after
a pause, his gaze sliding to Kali’s FetchMe, who calmly watched
everything a few steps away from the main group.

The medical bay was uncontaminated and brilliant in its
simplistic crystal design; banally alien. Floor to ceiling recessed
shelves covered three of the four walls. There was a refrigeration
unit letting off chilly vapour with vials floating in suspension
beams. Everything was bigger than normal to accommodate the Novae’s
larger bodies.

Blue noticed all this with a rapid scan of the room. He strode
into the centre and laid Kali on the raised crystal slab that
sprouted from the floor. He arranged her arms and legs, so she was
comfortable.

The space swiftly filled with too many bodies, heat, and body
scents. The air conditioning and purity filters groaned on
automatically, humming lightly in the background.

Lara unzipped the top half of her one-piece, and tied it by
the arms at her hips. Grabbing a laser knife, she sliced Kali’s
tunic open from neck to lower stomach. After tugging off Kali’s
boots, she cut the skin-tight trousers, careful not to nick
skin.

“
Stars,” Christabella choked. “Can’t you allow her some
modesty?”

“
Kali is dying.” Lara continued to hack away at Kali’s clothes,
chucking the shredded and bloodied material on the pristine floor.
“Her clothes have been exposed to the most toxic substance I know
by touching Blue. He had a near miss with the Crimzon. We don’t
want any of it getting into her body if Ken opens her
up.”

“
Opens her up
,” Max spluttered.

Igor dumped Creighton in a corner and stepped around Max to
stand at the head of the crystal table.

After divesting Kali of her clothes, Lara tilted the girl’s
head back to straighten her airway. She snatched up the garments
and shoved them in a two-by-four slot in the wall. She slammed down
the transparent screen. A flash of purple light blinded them as the
clothes disintegrated. Lara stood next to Kenshin to be disinfected
by the laser.

“
Just do your hands,” he said in a low aside. “I need you to
prepare a shot of adrenaline.”

“
Why?” Max demanded, his enhanced hearing picking up the
murmured request.

Nodding, Lara pushed her mass of white-pink hair away from her
sweaty neck then rolled her sleeves back. She turned to glare at
Max and Christabella. “You two. Do something useful rather than
standing there gawking or asking questions. Find a
defibrillator.”

“
I asked why?” Max repeated defiantly. “If her heart’s beating
too fast we just need to slow it down. Isn’t that stuff for when
your heart’s stopped?” Max stared at the silent Hybrids and the
shock of what was happening caught up to him. He swayed on the
spot. The near swoon was strange on such a masculine frame. “You …
you think her heart is going to fail.”

Lara’s hands lit up with a pink glow as she locked eyes with
Max. “Just do as we say.”

Blue stared at the examination table’s keypad then swiped his
fingers over a series of colours that chimed a few
notes.

A pink glow surrounded Kali then disappeared. The blood and
dirt on her body was gone, but the hole in her side dribbled dark
blood across her stomach.

Brows plunging, Igor packed the wound with wads of cotton-like
substance, pressing it hard against her side to slow the
bleed.

Creighton broke from his panic induced catatonia. “What was
that pink light?” He stumbled across the glinting floor from the
corner Igor had placed him towards his daughter, leaving sooty
footprints as he went.

The trousers given to him at the slave encampment were
bloodied and torn at the knee. Smears of Symbiont slime covered his
bared chest and stuck together clumps of his grey-speckled hair.
Shock etched deep grooves into his forehead. His olive eyes wheeled
in an unsettling manner as he tried to take in his
surroundings.

“
Disinfecting laser,” replied Blue distractedly. His hand shot
out to stop the man from touching her. They locked gazes, and the
flare of aggression made everyone pause. “Put gloves on if you want
to hold her hand or get sanitized.”

“
You did this,” Creighton accused. “You destroyed my
family.”

“
Throw blame later,” Lara snapped, breaking into the tension.
“Fighting will only see her dead quicker.”

Blue tore his gaze from Creighton’s and focused on his task.
“This control panel has been configured with different symbols than
what I was shown. What I was actually looking for was….” Blue’s
fingers danced across the keypad and chimed a few more colourful
notes.

A green haze lifted from Kali’s body until it hovered four
feet above her. The green mass separated into crisp lines. It was a
holographic replica, vital organs on display through transparent
skin. Kali’s spleen was highlighted and her sluggishly beating
heart pulsed faintly. The faltering movement of the fist-sized
organ was distressing to watch, barely perceptible one moment then
thumping rapidly another.

The heart on the holographic image flared brighter.

Kali’s body dragged in a breath, chest rising jerkily, but the
inhalation stuttered halfway.

The hologram zoomed in on Kali’s heart, flashing angrily,
alerting them to danger. Alien symbols appeared underscored by
lines pointing to danger areas, flickering and scrolling in the
air. The temperate crystalline tinkling that accompanied the use of
Novae technology became demanding, increasing in frequency and
pitch.

“
Her hand is icy,” Creighton whispered, rubbing it furiously.
“So cold.”

“
Aliens
,”
Max growled. “You’d think you’d develop technology to better take
care of us since you need us so badly.”

“
Humans breed like an infection,” Lara
snapped. “There is more than enough healthy live stock and millions
that survive on the medical care already available. It’s perfectly
logical the Creator saw improvement of Human medicinal equipment as
superfluous to the primary objective,
you asshole
.”

“
Enough,” Igor barked. “I will finish what you start. Bones
will be broken.” Natalya backed him up from the doorway with a low
hiss. Igor focused on keeping Kali’s side blotted, but he did
glance up to make sure Lara and Max had stopped bickering. When his
eyes returned to his charge, he noticed the absolute stillness of
her chest. He touched Kali’s neck. “No pulse!”

The tinkling alarm became a siren. The crystal room flashed
with blue lights at the corners.

“
Resuscitate,” Kenshin ordered, snatching the vial of
adrenaline and empty syringe from Lara. “Get over there,” he told
her.

Sinking the needle into the gummy top he pulled the
plunger.

Lara stormed away from the disinfection unit and assumed her
position at the side of the operating table. “The
adrenaline?”

Kenshin tossed the packed syringe across the room.

She snatched it out of the air, twirling it neatly in her
fingers until it was needle up. She squirted liquid out the
bevelled top to safeguard against a fatal air bubble. Lara went to
inject the crease of Kali’s arm then hesitated.
“Administration?”

“
Intracardiac,” Kenshin answered. “Count three ribs to the
forth intercostal space and aim up. Omicron, do you have the
defibrillator? Her heart’s failing and if we lose shockable rhythm
there’s no bringing her back.”

Blue tore up the place, banging and crashing as he searched
for the device that would save Kali’s life. “Knowledge of where it
should be isn’t there. Don’t know
where
to look. It looks like a solid
bronze tube.” He dragged out a large tray, rifled through its
contents then tossed it behind him. “I’ll find it.”

Christabella sobbed as she dashed around on the opposite side
of the room, searching for the defibrillator.

“
Am I doing this right?” Lara didn’t wait for Kenshin to answer
before stabbing Kali’s upper torso. The spinal needle appeared on
the hologram as a thick black line, slicing through muscle tissue
to reach Kali’s heart.

Sanitized, Kenshin made his way over to the table. He took
deep breaths and centred himself, blocking the madness surrounding
him. “Yes,” he reassured. “See, you’ve pierced the ventricular
chamber.”

Lara thumbed the plunger.

Kenshin donned latex gloves and assessed the hologram. “The
BioScan shows her spleen has ruptured here.” His finger pointed to
a dark line in the sack-like organ above her stomach on the
transparent image. “Blood is pouring into her chest cavity. I’ll
have to take it out.”

“
We knew that,” Lara panted. Chunks of hair had fallen out of
her hasty knot. Dark pink tendrils stuck on her face and neck.
“It’s a non essential organ, or am I missing something? Earlier it
felt like her heart was going to punch through her chest and now
nothing.”

Patting his chest over his own heart, Kenshin’s inner belief
they fought a losing battle was reflected in his eyes.

He muttered a list of medical terms under his
breath.

Lara and Igor grimaced.

“
What
?”
Feeling useless, Max had his hands locked behind his head. He knew
when to get involved, and he knew when to stay out of the way, but
he was panicked by the Hybrids expressions. “I don’t understand
what’s happening.”

“
The cut across her torso bled too much,” Lara was breathless
as her hands pumped Kali’s chest. “Her internal injury is
haemorrhaging too. Think of her as a balloon with too many holes.
There’s not enough blood in her veins to keep pressure.”

“
Her body has been under extreme and consistent duress and that
caused her to go into shock,” Kenshin added. “Her heart beat too
fast, demanding oxygen, but because it worked so hard it lost
efficiency then stalled. Everything has shifted out of sync, the
balance of her system compromised.”

“
So she needs a transfusion.” Max didn’t understand why they
were talking about it rather than doing it. “Give it to her. Give
her the blood she needs so you can fix her.”

“
She doesn’t have a blood type.” Kenshin shook his head
listlessly. “It was stripped away by the Creator.”

Max blinked. “If she has no blood type her body will accept
anything, right?”

“
I’m afraid I do not have the answer. Even we Hybrids have a
blood type, rare, but classifiable.”

“
Take mine.” Max stumbled forward to offer his arm. “Whatever
you need take.”

“
It won’t work,” Creighton mumbled. “What if you have
contagions in your blood?”

“
I’m not sick,” he assured.
“And Kal’s been inoculated so….” With a look at
Creighton’s devastated face, Max dragged both hands through his
hair. “She told me she’d been inoculated.”