ReEmergent -Guardians of Vesturon [4] (5 page)

Julian began with his explanation. “As best we can determine, some sort of a microchip has been implanted into her brain.”

He was interrupted before he could get another word out. “Excuse me, but it’s much more than a mere microchip.”

“
Explain,” Xarrid demanded. “And state your name.”

“
My name is Adolfo Winfeld and I have studied these things for quite some time now. This is a nanochip. The difference is a microchip is what it is. You put it somewhere and it never changes. A nanochip, on the other hand, morphs into whatever it’s commanded to morph into. In this case, it was programmed to latch onto her cerebral cortex and basically take it over. So now it is the command center for her brain. It has not only taken over but has latched on and multiplied, forming new growth. The nanochip takes on a life of its own directing itself to replicate and grow. So all those dark areas you see in her brain are all part of the replication process.”

Xarrid eyes narrowed and his lips hardened. “How do you know this?”

“
Because, it’s what I’ve dedicated my research studies to for years now.”

“
Where did you get this information?”

“
Over the years, there have seen many civilizations that have tried to use nanotechnology to their advantage, but it’s always fallen short. It hasn’t panned out to be what they originally thought it would be. You can use it in machines, but it can never replace a real brain. It’s crude, at best, and most often the person it’s used in doesn’t survive the procedure.”

“
So how do we get it out of her?”

“
Now that’s the real problem. You don’t,” Adolfo said.

“
Why not? And Adolfo, no suppositions here.”

“
No sir. The reason you can’t is because it’s embedded in her brain and you risk severe brain damage and death if you try to remove it.”

Xarrid flew to his feet and nearly tore the door off the hinges in his haste to exit. Everyone in the room stared after him for minutes. Finally, Rowan spoke. “Who uses this technology?”

“
The Xanthians.”

Rowan looked at his daughter Sharra, and nodded. She rose from the table and left the room. Maddie wasn’t far behind her.

“
Shar, wait.” Sharra stopped and turned to Maddie.

“
Does this mean what I think it does?”

“
It does. Father wants every space vessel flown by Xanthus destroyed. I’ll be off with the Star Avengers to take care of this.”

“
Well then, as the leader of the Star Avengers, I guess you have no other choice, do you?”

“
No, but you know I’ll be fine. You understand that this is what I live for.”

“
Shar, that’s not true and you know it. You hate this as much as I do.”

“
No Maddie, I hate the Xanthians as much as Xarrid does. They killed one of my brothers and I’ll do anything to see they don’t kill another family member of mine. Now hug me so I can go and do my job.”

Maddie smiled and did as Sharra requested, giving her a hard squeeze. “Be safe Sharra.”

“
I will. It’s not my time yet. I have way too much to do. Hey, look out for Xarrid, okay?”

“
Yeah, don’t worry, I will. And Saylan too.”

She headed back to the Medical Facility where she knew she’d find Xarrid.

He was standing outside Saylan’s cell staring at her. His cheeks were damp and his back was rigid. Maddie could see the twitching muscle on his jaw. If he clenched them any tighter, she was sure all of his teeth would crack.

She squeezed his shoulder and said, “I’m not buying anything Xarrid. Adolfo is going on what he’s read. He doesn’t have any first hand information.”

Xarrid turned to her and the darkness in his eyes made her take a step back. “What are you saying Maddie? Are you saying that we should ignore everything and go ahead and remove the damn thing anyway? What if it was Rayn lying in there? What would you do then? Tell Julian to take it out because you don’t have any first hand information? Bloody hell, Maddie, we’re talking about her brain here!” His body trembled with rage, fear and countless other emotions that filled him. He raised his arms and put his hands and head on the window that looked into her room. Leaning against it, he let his grief rush out of him as he looked at the pitiful girl he loved so deeply.

Maddie felt as helpless as ever. She wanted to say something to make him feel better, but what could she possibly say? There was the distinct possibility that Saylan would never be the same laughing girl she had become best friends with at the Guardian Academy. She immediately felt her throat constrict and her eyes fill with tears. When the sobs tore from her throat, she pulled on Xarrid’s arm until he turned and they buried their faces in each other’s shoulders, shuddering with the force of their grief at the thought of never seeing their Saylan the same again.

Neither one of them could recall how long they cried in each other’s arms. When it seemed like both of their shirts were soaked with each other’s tears, they lifted their heads and sort of did a funny snorting laugh.

“
Aren’t we a pair?” Xarrid asked.

Maddie puffed out her breath and said, “Yeah, but I just feel so helpless. Everything I want to say sounds so lame and when I think of all the things I want to tell Saylan, I want to start crying again.”

“
Me too Maddie. I just can’t stop thinking about how she looked when I walked into her room. And to think she had the strength to pick me up and throw me across the unit like that. But the worst part of it all was knowing she didn’t even recognize me.” He rubbed his eyes with his fists.

They turned to look inside her room and noticed Jurek was in there. He was sitting next to her bed and had his hand on her forehead. She was laying there so peacefully.

“
What do you think will happen now?” Xarrid asked.

“
I don’t know. We have to do something though. Our choices are limited, but I know that if I had that thing inside my head, I would want you all to try and get it out of there. What about you?”

Xarrid looked at Saylan for a long moment and then turned to Maddie. His eyes held hers for the longest time. She’d given up on him ever answering her when he said, “Yeah. I would want Julian to try his damnedest to get that bloody thing out of my head. Even if it meant my life.”

Julian, his team of four robomedics and January were in the surgical unit. January was standing in because she had made the decision to become a healer and she wanted to observe the procedure.

Julian would supervise, but the robotic medical assistants, or robomedics would be doing the actual procedure. Their surgical technique was much more precise than any Vesturion’s could ever be and in this case, precision could make the difference between life and death, or a normal brain and a severely damaged one.

Everyone watched outside from the observation deck, above the surgical unit. Xarrid and Maddie held hands as the procedure began. They met at least a dozen times, reviewing how it would all pan out. Hopefully, the robomedics would extract as much of the nanochip and its invasive replication as possible. They would then sit, wait and hope for the best outcome. There were no guarantees. Xarrid and Maddie knew this. Everyone agreed though, that if they didn’t do anything, the possibility of Saylan living with that thing in her head for much longer was highly questionable. They wondered if the Xanthians were sending signals to it because every now and then, Saylan would go into fits of screaming, where she would clench her fists against her head as if she were in excruciating pain.

Whenever that happened, Xarrid’s eyes would darken and he would turn into another person. His temper flared and his body would become flushed, as he broke into a sweat. His ability to watch Saylan suffer was exacting a terrible toll on him; it was worse than having to endure it himself. Everyone began to worry about him as much as they worried about her. The longer he dwelled on Saylan’s condition, the more violently Xarrid’s jaw would twitch and the more pronounced his agitation became.

“
Hey, don’t go there Xarrid. Stay with me in the present, brother.” Jurek was by his side, not leaving him for even a moment.

“
What if...?”

“
We’ve been through this a dozen times. If they don’t do anything, she’s as good as gone, friend. You wouldn’t want it that way for you. Look at me.”

Jurek grabbed Xarrid by the shoulders and turned him so they faced each other. “We’ll get through this together. You know if it were you in her position, you would want her to make the same decision. So make a promise to yourself right now. Promise you’ll stop second guessing all of this. Everyone here concurred with this decision. It wasn’t made irrationally without her best interests at heart. They’re doing everything possible to get that bloody thing out of her head. Now you need to get it out of
yours
. She’s going to need you brother and if you’re head isn’t jacked on straight, you won’t be worth a damn to her. Do you get me?”

Xarrid rubbed his face for the umpteenth time that day and nodded. “Yeah, I got you. I’m with you all the way.”

Once Jurek was comfortable with Xarrid’s mindset, he placed his hand on Xarrid’s forehead and let his power seep into him.

Xarrid closed his eyes and let that wonderful feeling wash over him. “Thanks. Hey, if I haven’t said this yet, I owe you brother. More than I can tell you.”

The two men hugged for a moment and then turned to watch the procedure again. Hours passed before Saylan was moved to a special unit where she would be guarded by robomedics around the clock. They monitored her for every tiny change, and whenever something was different, Xarrid’s heart rate would increase. He had lost the desire to eat, and only did so when he was reminded to.

Julian kept Saylan sedated most of this time. The robomedics were able to extract the main part of the nanochip, but unfortunately the rest of it had been so enmeshed in her brain, it had been impossible to retrieve it all. Now they had to play the sit and wait game. Xarrid had no patience left for this so he paced incessantly, was jittery and frenetic in his movements.

Xarrid knew he needed to call Saylan’s parents. He had put it off because he knew they would be as upset as he was and he wanted to be able to at least give them some positive news. He didn’t want to leave the medical facility so he asked Rayn to bring them over.

Their first meeting was disastrous; all three of them broke down and sobbed. Her parents were angry with Xarrid for not calling sooner. In Xarrid’s defense, he was only trying to protect them. However, in theirs, she was their daughter. In the end, they all mended the rift because Saylan needed them and she was their true concern.

“
I’m so sorry, but my head has not been on straight since she’s disappeared. There’s something you should probably know. We had intended to tell you this when we returned from Xanthus but we never got the chance. Saylan and I were planning to unite. She is my soul mate which is why I always knew she was still alive.” He couldn’t get any more words out for his throat became choked with his tears.

Saylan’s mother replied, “I know Xarrid. Saylan told me.” She held him in her arms as he cried again.

He tried to pull himself together. “Please, I’m sorry for being so weak. Ever since she disappeared, I’ve been falling apart at the seams.” Xarrid wiped his face again and cleared his throat. “Saylan was gone, just like that,” he clicked his fingers, “and then my brother was killed and I can’t seem to pull out of this. Every time I make some kind of headway, I get pushed back down. When they found her I had my hopes up but when we realized what we were facing, what she was facing, I...” he shuddered.

“
We’ve barely functioned ourselves. You’ve seen us, you know. You don’t have to apologize for your grief.”

Xarrid nodded and gave them a lopsided half grin. “The funny thing is, she’d be giving me hell right now.”

“
Oh, I know. But it would be with good intentions,” her mother said.

********

A week went by before Julian allowed Saylan’s sedation to be lifted. He wanted her brain to have a chance to heal first. They all stood and watched from outside her viewing window for some kind of sign that she had returned to her old self.

She began to move, but her eyes remained closed for several more days. On the fifth day, she finally opened them. Xarrid had taken to sitting by her side, only leaving to eat and to take bathroom breaks.

He had fallen asleep but was awakened when he felt her hand moving within his. He came to attention and saw her eyes on his. In them was fear.

“
Saylan, please don’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

Her grey eyes grew even wider with fear. “Who are you?” she said in the tiniest of whispers.

“
It’s me, Xarrid. You’re back on Vesturon in the medical facility. Julian has taken that horrible chip out of your brain.”

She looked at him in confusion. “I...I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s Vesturon? Who is Julian?”

Xarrid’s heart plunged to the floor. Her memory had been wiped out by that nanochip. She didn’t even know her home planet. Trying to keep up a cheerful facade, he only said, “Let’s not worry about any of that now. The best thing for you to do is rest and get your strength back.” He pushed her hair back off her forehead and ran the back of his hand down her cheek. When she flinched at his touch, he felt his heart cracking into pieces.

“
Please don’t touch me,” she begged.

Xarrid forced back the mass that had lodged in his throat. He looked at her and smiled instead. “I would never do anything to you that you didn’t welcome Saylan.”