Jayne stirred and turned, carefully adjusting her silky nightgown. "Did you sleep okay?"

  "Is it too early for me to feel this way?" AJ asked.

  She smiled, her face lighting up. "I hope not. It just feels so good. I've never really felt like this before, have you?

  He looked away but before he could say anything, Jayne stopped him. "I'm so sorry, AJ. Pam. Of course, you were in love with her. I didn't mean to…"

  He placed a finger on her lips and shook his head. "I'll never stop loving Pam, but that part of my life is past. I want you to be free to say what you want. Don't worry about how it sounds. I feel the same way, Amanda Jayne. I'm the luckiest guy in the world to find love twice." He kissed her, causing a new sort of urgency.

  Jayne walked into the kitchen, a towel wrapped around her head. She eyed a plateful of burned toast. "Aww, you made breakfast."

  "There's coffee, too," AJ said, oblivious to the charred carnage. "I’m not sure if orange juice can go bad. It tastes okay to me. I heard from Big D. He and Lisa are going over to their house to do some cleaning. He wants to get together tonight so we can make plans. Apparently, Sharg's been having fun rummaging around in the yard. She's already put out a few Fantastium traps."

  "Is that safe, her out in the open?"

  "Darnell said she was being discreet. Something about a robe that would cover her tail."

  "She's seven feet tall. I'm not sure discreet is going to be her thing."

  He shrugged. "We should probably head over, especially if Big D and Lisa are leaving."

  "I'll put on some work clothing."

  "Don't cover more than you think necessary."

  "Is this how it's going to be? You ogling me all the time?"

  "Nothing new there, Doc."

  "You're incorrigible."

  Jayne disappeared back into the bedroom and reappeared a few minutes later wearing a baggy pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "These don't fit as well as they used to."

  "Isn't Thomas supposed to show up on your ear pretty soon?" AJ asked, nodding toward the door.

  Beverly appeared, sitting on Jayne's left shoulder. "Forty-two minutes, according to his original timeframe. You'll need to scrape her ear when it's time." Beverly mimed sticking her finger just beneath the bump at the front of Jayne's ear.

  "Maybe an hour," Jayne answered, locking the apartment behind her while AJ called for the elevator.

  "You can't hear Beverly anymore, can you?"

  "Not sure. Is she talking?"

  "She was."

  "Couldn't we make some sort of radio for me so I could hear her?"

  Beverly pretended to pull on a strand of Jayne's hair, hoisting herself up until she was standing and peering into Jayne’s ear canal. "She's right. It'd be simple. She's got nice big canals. It'd also give her a way to talk with Thomas."

  Jayne unlocked her vehicle remotely and they loaded up, driving in silence as she worked her way through the garage and out to the street.

  "I've been trying to figure something out," AJ said. "Why did you point us to that guy, Jeff Jefferson, in case something happened to you?"

  "Dr. Jerry Jefferies." She smiled at a memory. "He’s taken plenty of ribbing for his name."

  "What's CDC got to do with this? I know you're thinking of Korgul as a disease, but really they're not."

  "Their behavior is more so than you might think. CDC works with parasitical infections, viruses, all matter of things, but you're right. Alien infestations are probably a bit out of their purview. The thing is, even with the Korgul cure we've developed, we need a way to create a huge volume of the serum. Once we've done that, we need to disperse it to a massive number of people."

  "And we need to do it all covertly," AJ said. "Something tells me the CDC is anything but covert."

  Jayne nodded and tapped her brakes, pointing out the window at a kid walking down the sidewalk. "Is that Diego?"

  "Slow down," he said, unnecessarily. "Geez, it definitely looks like him, but something got to him. Pull over."

  Jayne did as he asked. He hopped out and she trailed behind him.

  "Hey, stop," AJ called as he hurried toward the emaciated child.

  The small Hispanic boy turned slowly at AJ's voice, a flash of sludge passing over his eyes. "Hold on, Doc."

  "Mr. AJ?" the boy asked, his voice confused. Suddenly he straightened, his voice changing. "You should not have come back to Earth. I will report your presence."

  "AJ, hold him!" Jayne said.

  Diego started to run, but AJ was faster and grabbed him up. "What are you doing, Doc? I used our last batch."

  Jayne grabbed Diego's head and forced her fingers into his mouth, pulling his jaw down. "Do you have a knife?"

  He flicked his pocketknife open. "Um, yeah."

  "Hold his mouth open."

  "Doc, what are you doing?" he asked.

  She drew the blade across her forearm. "Hold him still." Droplets of blood formed on her arm and she guided them into Diego's mouth. "I don't know how much of this we need. Make sure Beverly's blocking his transmission."

  "Tell her I have done as she asked," Beverly answered, unprompted.

  A car skidded in the street and a man yelled from the car. "Hey, what are you doing to that kid?"

  "He's having a seizure," Jayne called back. "I'm a doctor."

  "Should I call 911?"

  "No, I'll take him in my car," she said. "It'll be faster."

  "Are you sure? That blood doesn't look like his."

  "Get him in the car, AJ," Jayne ordered and turned to the man. "Thank you. I've got this. Call Saint Margaret's and ask for Dr. Boland if you need to check up on him." She hustled around to the driver's seat and slammed her door as AJ wrestled Diego into the back seat.

  15

  Babel Fish

  "Ah, shit," AJ complained as the now familiar, slimy green robin's egg-sized mass pushed Diego's eye aside and slid out onto his face.

  "Hang on." Jayne pulled the car to a stop in front of the junkyard's gates and jumped out.

  AJ grabbed at the pulsing glob that was the entirety of the Korgul's body and scooped it into his hand. The sensation rivaled what AJ assumed he’d feel if he picked up a red-hot coal from a fire pit. He dropped the mass onto the luxury car's floor mat. "Dammit!"

  "What's going on, AJ?" Jayne asked, sliding back into the driver's seat.

  "Snot ball is trying to escape and I think it bit me."

  Beverly appeared wearing green khaki shorts, a pocketed shirt and a coiled whip on her belt. "Crikee, the little buggers have a good nip to 'em. You'll need to use a tool if you want to be manhandling 'em," she said in a new Australian accent.

  AJ used his boot to block the Korgul's path. "Fastest exit yet. I guess that answers the question of whether or not your blood's packing a punch."

  "I suspected as much." She turned off the car and jumped out, running back to close the gate. "Get Diego down to the bunker. I'll be right behind you."

  "What about this guy?" AJ pulled his boot back, getting ready to stomp the Korgul who'd taken over his young friend.

  "Don't," she warned.

  "Geneva Convention doesn't apply to these assholes," he said, but lowered his leg and got out of the car.

  She leaned in and scooped the Korgul from the carpet. "You're better than that, AJ."

  "This guy's hardly a non-comm," AJ argued, pulling Diego out of the back seat. "Geez, what'd they do to you, Diego?" He lost all interest in the Korgul as he picked up the boy who couldn’t be more than fourteen. Diego’s thin skin was stretched over his sixty-five-pound frame and he suddenly seemed considerably younger.

  Beverly floated along as AJ walked toward the bunker. "He's significantly dehydrated and malnourished. I believe I also detect a variety of Earth-borne parasites. I'm creating a few programs for the ship's manufactory to help with diagnostics and treatment."

  Sharg met AJ at the top of the stairs. "Who is this?" she asked, stepping out of the way so AJ could pass. Greybeard barked excitedly, but also made way.

  "Diego. He's one of my neighbors and a friend. Korgul got to him. He's just a kid," AJ said with disgust. In the main room, he laid Diego's unconscious form on the closest couch. "Bring some water, Sharg."

  "Greybeard, would you be a dear and fetch the items from the manufactory?" Beverly said sweetly. Greybeard barked once and raced off.

  "How's he doing, AJ?" Jayne asked, stopping in front of a six-foot by eight-foot translucent cabinet composed of tiny cubes large enough to hold an individual Korgul. The condo, as they called it, had room for tens of thousands of Korgul inhabitants. Diego's uninvited captor was only the third permanent resident.

  "It's not good, Doc. He should be a growing kid, but he's lost weight since we last saw him."

  Sharg handed AJ a glass of water but Jayne intercepted it. "Careful," she warned. "We need to go slowly. Let's prop up his back. We need blankets. Can you turn the heat up to about eighty degrees? He's not maintaining body temperature."

  AJ prioritized Jayne's demands and ratcheted up the ancient dial for the thermostat before fetching pillows and blankets. When he returned, he was met at Diego's side by Greybeard who was carrying a bag of small items.

  "Dr. Jayne, can you hear me?" Beverly asked, taking over a nearby weather radio that was always on. Jayne nodded. "I've manufactured a course of nano-sized medical machines for Diego. They won't be as effective as having an implanted Beltigersk and I won't be able to directly monitor their progress. Please begin with the red gel. It should be applied to the back of his throat so that he does not disgorge the material."

  Jayne pursed her lips. "He's very weak. If he aspirates your gel, it could be fatal."

  "Uncomfortable, yes. Fatal, no," Beverly said. "The nano machines are capable of delivering oxygen directly to the bloodstream if necessary. It would be better if the material were to make it to his stomach."

  "Do no harm, Beverly," Jayne insisted.

  "I assure you, the red gel is entirely safe. It is a common first-aid material for an oxygen-consuming bipedal. The machines are designed to stabilize the circulatory system."

  "You will send me the details of these medicines," Jayne said and turned her attention to Diego. "Diego, if you can hear me, I'm going to give you some medicine. Try to swallow it."

  "I think he's unconscious, Doc," AJ said from where he knelt next to the boy's head.

  "Best not to make assumptions," Jayne said, using her long fingers to pry open Diego's slack jaw as she pulled him from the pillows into a seated position. "Help me hold him."

  AJ placed one hand on Diego's chest and wrapped a long arm around his back as Jayne tipped the boy's head back and squeezed a long rope of the red gel onto the back of his throat. Instinctively, the boy’s swallow reflex kicked in. "Good, Diego. This will help." Jayne's voice was soothing. "Beverly, does he need the entire course now?"

  "You delivered seventy-five milliliters. Given his mass, another seventy-five would be ideal. You can't overdo it."

  "Just a little more, Diego," Jayne said, squeezing the tube. After delivering the second dose, she nodded to AJ, who allowed the boy back onto the pillows.

  "What about the rest of this?" he asked, looking at a single blue tube and four green tubes.

  "I'll monitor his progress with the probe that is still within the bag," she said. "I need you to install it."

  AJ opened the bag and moved the tubes around in order to find a two-inch-long device rounded gently on both ends and slightly smaller in diameter than a pencil. He shook his head. "This looks like a suppository. I'm not putting that in!" he said. "What is it about you aliens and probes, anyway?"

  Beverly had a far-off look for a moment, a telltale sign she was looking for information. Refocusing, she chuckled. "While the anus is indeed a viable orifice for this probe, insertion there would not have the long-term effect of providing a communication link for Diego."

  "You can't talk to him, BB," AJ said. "He has no idea you exist."

  "You speak truth," Beverly said. "We have discovered that Thomas and Dr. Jayne's cure for the common Korgul, leaves the subject in a state where they remember the Korgul's visit. If you are looking to save your friend from the knowledge that aliens exist, it is no longer possible."

  "My presence might be difficult to explain," Sharg grunted after clacking her jaws.

  "Where, then?" AJ asked.

  "Slide it carefully into either ear," Beverly said. "It will conform to his ear canal and disappear."

  AJ did what was asked and watched in amazement. Once the end of the small probe contacted the ear, it slid in as if it were being pulled.

  "How long will he be out?" Jayne asked.

  "In thirty minutes his body will stabilize. We'll introduce the blue gel at that time. The blue gel is a simple rapid-caloric boost and will feed the machines we just introduced. The green gel will be given every two hours after that," Beverly said. "In answer to your question, I propose we keep Diego unconscious through the night. In the morning, I'll manufacture a final course that will remove the machines from his system. He will awaken quite hungry."

  "Are you monitoring him now?" Jayne asked. "Are your red nanos working?"

  Beverly smiled. "The second probe in the bag is a neural enhancer that will allow you to make Type-A connections with common Tok machinery."

  "Like probes?" Jayne asked.

  "Yes, and Galactic terminals. It'll also give us a better connection when you're nearby."

  "Oh crap! I forgot about Thomas," AJ said. "Isn't he supposed to be ready for pickup?"

  "It is indeed time. I had not forgotten," Beverly said. "Dr. Jayne, if you would allow AJ to touch your ear, I believe we will be able to transfer Thomas."

  "Which ear?" Jayne turned her head and leaned toward him.

  "Ah, that was quite a journey." Thomas's voice filled AJ's ears.

  "I've got him, Doc," AJ said.

  The apprehension she’d felt evaporated as the burden of Thomas’ fate was lifted from her shoulders. Leaning over, she searched through the bag and retracted a probe similar to what had been installed in Diego's ear. Without hesitation she pushed it into her own ear. "Thomas. Thank you for the messages. I’d been so worried."

  "I will not bore you with details, dear doctor," Thomas said. "Being rejected by your body was not a pleasant experience. Had I not hastily constructed fortifications, I might have been lost. Alas, all is well. Have you attempted to introduce a Korgul? Is this a second test subject?"

  "Direct blood transfer," Jayne looked at her arm where she’d cut herself and dripped blood into Diego’s mouth. "There is a third, too. We utilized a low-velocity gunpowder round to free Darnell's wife. That method also worked."

  "That's grand," Thomas said. "Three successful deliveries, then?"

  "That's right."

  "Have you made contact with your epidemiologist friend?"

  "No," she said. "We can’t risk remote contact if he's been compromised by Korgul."

  "Taking precautions is wise but by my count, we have utilized this cure twice on those who were set in place to monitor your return. Won’t Korgul find that too much of a coincidence?"

  "What are they going to do about it?" AJ asked. "Sure, it's suspicious, but so what if they don't buy our fake IDs? Kicking a couple more snot balls to the curb after they infested our family is fair game."

  "We're not equal. With twenty million Korgul on the planet, they could crush us without even thinking about it," Jayne said. "What happens when they send a group of thugs to kill us?"

  "AJ has a point. Without sufficient provocation, they'd have trouble with Mother," Beverly said. "There is no advantage for them to push contact. Korgul have a single objective. Drain Earth of its resources. Mother has agreed to turn a blind eye if I am left alone."

  "That is a despicable approach," Jayne said. "She's willing to ignore the subjugation of millions of humans."

  "You could decide to do nothing," Sharg said. "Send me home to Halfnium-8 with Thomas's remedy. I'll post the formula in a broad public forum where any species is able to find and replicate it."

  Jayne slid her a sideways look. "It's not like humans have access to this forum."

  "The Galactic Empire consists of thousands of species, many of whom have suffered because of Korgul," Sharg said. "I could release the information and point them to Earth. Do you not think there would be many who would make it their mission to rid Earth of Korgul?"

  "And then what? Some other species shows up and takes advantage of our status as raccoons?" AJ spat. "No. This is a human problem and humans will solve it. Sharg, you'll have to make your fortune another way. Earth doesn't need that kind of attention."

  Sharg hissed and rolled her shoulders back. "Perhaps I see logic in your argument. Perhaps I do not."

  "What'd we miss?" Darnell asked, entering the family room. "Holy crap! Is that Diego? What happened to him?"

  "Had a Korgul buddy," AJ said. "He's getting some R&R."

  "Man, he looks bad."

  "I didn't think we'd see you until later," AJ said. "You were supposed to be cleaning the house."

  "We got some cleaning done." He glanced at Lisa, who looked down.

  AJ chuckled. "I see. Well, good thing you did. We've been strategizing ever since Thomas got out."

  "I brought meatloaf, salad, wine and rolls that need puttin' in the oven. You do have one down here, don't you?" Lisa said, jostling the bags she was carrying.

  "Uh, right," AJ said. "Kitchen's over there."

  "No comments about the meatloaf, AJ?" She fixed her gaze on him.

  He shook his head. "Sweet Lisa, if you had any idea what we've eaten since the last time you saw me, you wouldn't even ask the question."

  She smiled. "'Bout time you learned your lesson."

  "Korgul are going to be watching us. They'll want to see what we're up to," AJ said. "I feel like we need to give 'em a good show."

 

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