The bodies were rounded up, the repairs on the ship were underway, and the Colonial Defense Force arrived to receive the distress call. 2 patrol craft, these clunky, industrial vehicles, landed planetside to survey the area.
The men and women, of various species, came out in two groups of three, all wearing black and green light armor and armed with military-grade blaster rifles. One group moved with efficiency to detain the remaining living marauders and collect the one dead. The second group approached the crew of the Rust Burn, where one soldier, marked with the clear insignia of the Med Corp, brought out a medical scanner to check everyone’s vitals.
Kazia watched everything play out, sitting on the open ramp of the ship, a memory playing through her mind. She saw herself among them, confirming orders, moving in lockstep with her comrades to fulfill an objective. The memory was distant, yet still closely familiar, which made her heart ache.
The Colonial medic approached without her notice. Kazia didn’t flinch, but simply turned her full attention to the young Belgaro woman. The first thing she noticed was the open visor, where the woman’s team wore transparent visors that allowed for tactical data to flow between them. The second detail, is the second pair of arms extending out from her sides.
The medic officer kept her visor up, her blue-grey face exposed, all four green almond-shaped eyes assessing the data from her bio-scanner. She was combined with another of her species. Kazia took note that one pair of eyes held a sharper and more masculine feature than the pair on the top. The officer wasn’t just a woman, but a gestalt individual made of two different people; a man and a woman.
This was the unique physiology of the Belgaro. A people known to fuse to form literal physical bonds with compatible pairs, be it as a gesture of union or for familial bonds. The practice was strangely complex, but very unique.
The officer spoke, echoing words that came out as two different people, instead of just one.
“You have a plasma burn on your shoulder blade.” They paused, examining Kazia with intrigued eyes. “Your bio-energy is incredible! Higher than normal, especially from a Vul’Katahn.”
They looked at Kazia, the upper pair of eyes scanning her wrists, before reshaping into a frown. They typed something into the data pad, while their other pair of hands readied a cleaning solution and a canister of cell-gel.
“You don’t have your Net-link. Was it damaged?” The Belgaron medic now spoke with a single voice, more masculine than the other.
The medical officer shifted forward towards her, the gel dispenser in her dominant hand. Time moved slowly as the dispenser flashed into a sharp needle at the tip. The serene orange liquid is now a churning brew of sickly yellow.
The kindly and gentle officer, became a masked, grotesque figure. Kazia’s body seized up, her eyes widening, pupils dilating, arms trembling. Only her eyes kept going, tracking the needle while it inched closer to her skin.
“Be still, I just have to-.”The officer took Kazia’s arm, unprepared for what happened next.
Kazia grabbed the arm holding the syringe, her grip firm. She didn’t see the device, but stared into their eyes, irises burning with a silent fury and a trembling fear. Kazia stood, her height presenting herself with an intimidation bringing the Belgaron to their knees.
“No! What are you doing? I’m trying to help!” The Belgaron pleaded, their voices carrying to the others.
The two soldiers with the Rust crew, turned to find their ally in distress and moved quickly to provide aid. Lucian also moved to the site of the confrontation, his feet carrying him to reach her before the others.
“Wait, stop!” Lucian raised his open hands, standing between the soldiers and Kazia.
He looked back towards her, still staring at the officer. Lucian noticing as she did not move to attack, but held them at a distance. Even her feet were positioned ready to run, yet she couldn’t move. He realized the signs of overwhelming fear, and took a step closer, taking her forearm with a gentle touch.
Lucian stepped in front of Kazia, standing between the two to break her line of sight, allowing her to focus on him, her bright eyes dilating. The soldiers did not act, as long as no harm came to their medic, but stood ready.
“Hey, Kazia’taeia.” Lucian, his hands moving steadily to lay onto her arms. “Calm down. Just calm down.”
Kazia’s eyes broke through the haze while the muscles in her face relaxed. Her grip released the medical officer, allowing them to stumble back, cradling their wrist.
“What happened?” Lucian asked, hoping to glean light on what transpired.
Kazia shook her head, not speaking for a few beats. Her eyes looked down at the dispenser, where it had been dropped. Nothing about it appeared threatening or vile as she thought, but she couldn’t say what it was that gave her such a fright. She held her arm defensively, mouth kept shut, still ready to run even while her heart slowed from the recent panic.
Lucian picked up the canister, examined it, and presented it to Kazia in all its innocence. When their eyes met, he found a cold, empty gaze in her eyes. She stared toward the device in his hand, yet looked past it as if something else drew her attention. Kazia didn’t blink, her face held no expression, but something had reached out moments ago to tell a story that Lucian had seen before in his father.
“Just a bit of Cel-Gel spray.” He confirmed, looking to check the soldiers behind them, tending to their own.
He brought her hand out, allowing Kazia to approach him. She hesitated, but started to feel the burning sting of her shoulder from the plasma burn, and gave him her hand. Lucian steadied her, bringing the tip of the device to the humeral head of her shoulder, ejecting the canister’s contents directly to the burn.
Kazia winced ever slightly, but held herself in Lucian’s gentle hold. She took a breath, releasing the fear that held her frozen, and life returned to her eyes.
