Fracture (First Colony Book 8), page 18
He could’ve gone to the CDF base. There was plenty of work to be done, but Nathan had insisted that he take a few days off. He'd decided to take Nathan's advice, but Lenora had her own ways of dealing with things. She was still shaken up over the whole thing. Being trapped under tons of wreckage was enough to rattle anyone’s cage.
Connor walked up the large staircase that led to the Colonial Medical Center and went inside. He made his way to the long-term care wing, giving a friendly nod to the people he recognized, and went to Noah’s room, but his friend wasn’t there.
“Mr. Gates, if you’re looking for Noah, he’s out walking on the garden trails,” the nurse said to him.
Connor thanked her and headed outside. There were other patients outside who were also recovering from whatever injuries they’d sustained. He spotted Noah walking in plain hospital attire, marking him as a patient. Noah saw him and waved.
Connor caught up to him. “Look who’s up and about.”
“That’s me, making leaps and bounds. Couldn’t stand being inside anymore,” Noah said.
“I thought they wanted you to rest,” Connor said.
“This is therapy—not physical therapy. My muscles don’t need it; they didn’t atrophy while I was in the coma. This is therapy for my brain,” Noah said, tapping the side of his head. “They want me to get up and do things to help with my recovery.”
“Makes sense, I guess,” Connor said. After a few moments, he asked, “Do you remember anything that happened?”
“Bits and pieces. I remember fighting with Lars and falling off the cliff. People screaming . . . Dash. Kara filled me in on what happened after.”
“We took out the archway,” Connor replied.
Noah grimaced for a moment and then nodded. “I still can’t believe how much time has passed. Ten months. It’s hard for me to remember things, and what I do remember is fuzzy. I remember hearing your voice and Kara’s. Lenora too. But it’s weird—similar to a dream, or like I had something stuck in my ears. It’s kinda hard to explain.”
“We all came to see you. Do you remember sending me a message? A video log file before you found Lars?”
Noah frowned in thought, and then his eyes widened slightly. “I do . . . I remember making the video,” he said and regarded Connor for a few moments. “It’s funny because it was one of those last-minute things. I almost didn’t do it.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Connor. “Did you do it?”
“Are you asking if I prayed for you? Yeah, Noah, I did. We thought you were dying.”
Noah grinned, intrigued. “You actually prayed for me,” he said, as if he couldn’t quite imagine it.
Connor shook his head. “What do you take me for? A friend’s last request—of course, I did.”
“Yeah, but you . . . Well, you know.”
It was no secret that Connor wasn’t the most religious person. “I figured it couldn’t hurt.”
“Well, I appreciate it,” Noah said.
They were quiet for a few minutes as they walked along the path. Connor noticed that Noah’s shoulders were slumped just a little bit.
“Maybe we should sit down. Take a break,” Connor suggested.
There were benches along the path, and they sat down on one.
“It’s all right to pace yourself, you know. Three days ago, you were at death’s door,” Connor said.
“I feel like I've slept enough,” Noah said with a bit of an edge to his voice. He looked away from Connor and shook his head. “I’m afraid to sleep. I'm worried that I won’t wake up. Ashley told me that was normal—well, normal under the circumstances— but when I start to fall asleep, my mind races. What if I slip back into a coma and never wake up again?” Noah shivered at the thought.
“You’ve been through a lot, Noah. It’s enough to shake anybody up. It’ll just take time.”
“And lots of rest and recovery,” Noah said as if quoting the people who'd been telling him that. “Believe me, it’s all I keep hearing about, but I don’t want to rest. I want to do something. Go back to my work. I just want to go back to the way things were.”
Noah was scared. That much was obvious, but Connor wasn’t sure what to say. He decided to stay quiet and listen.
Noah arched an eyebrow. “No speeches about how I should make a full recovery or anything?”
Connor pursed his lips and bobbed his head to the side. “If there’s anyone who could do it, it’s you.”
“That’s the thing. It’s like having a bunch of things at the edge of my thoughts, and I can’t get to them. I want to think of them, and I feel like I should be able to do—well, anything really. What if that’s the way it is now?”
“Then that’s the way it is. You’ll learn to live with it, but I think you’re being a little too hard on yourself. You said it yourself. Your brain needs time to wake up.”
Noah swallowed hard. “For me, it feels like it’s only been a few days since the accident.”
The muscles in Connor’s shoulders went tight. “It wasn’t an accident.”
“Yes, it was. Lars didn’t throw me off that cliff. He didn’t mean to do it. We were fighting,” Noah said.
“Give me a break, Noah. He may not have physically thrown you off the cliff, but he definitely created the situation where you fell.”
Noah closed his eyes for a moment and looked as if he was trying to remember. He gritted his teeth and shook his head in frustration.
“Why don’t we go get some food? Are you hungry?” Connor asked.
Noah opened his eyes and nodded. “I guess.”
They headed back into the medical center and went to the cafeteria. As they got their food, many people greeted Noah and wished him well. Noah took it in stride. Connor thought his friend looked tired despite his assertions that he wasn’t.
“Connor, can you do me a favor?”
Connor took a bite from his sandwich and put it down. “Sure. What?”
“Tell me what’s been going on. Nobody really talks to me. Kara keeps telling me I need to rest and not worry about it. Ashley pretty much says the same thing. I did get to meet Lauren. She’s cute. So, you’re a dad now,” Noah said.
Connor smiled. “Yes, I am, and dammit, Diaz was right about it.”
“I hear he has a restaurant now.”
Connor nodded. “The Salty Soldier. I’ll take you to it when you’re out of here.”
Noah shook his head and smiled. “The Salty Soldier. Sounds about right for Diaz.”
Connor began telling Noah what had been happening since he’d been in a coma, from reverse engineering Krake technology to what they’d learned about the Ovarrow.
“So, the NEIIS are the Ovarrow. That will take some getting used to. No one has been able to find Lars?”
“He moves around a lot, and he’s actually pretty good at covering his tracks. We’ve come close a few times. Dash had a run-in with him about three months ago.”
Connor paused, deciding whether he should keep talking.
“Don’t do that,” Noah said.
“Do what?”
“Treat me like a sick person.”
“You almost died, Noah. You’re going to have to be patient with all of us, especially Kara.”
“I swear to God, if you start telling me that I need to rest, I’ll start screaming and . . .” Noah clenched his teeth for a moment.
“Well, if you scream too much, they’ll give you a sedative,” Connor said dryly.
Noah grinned a little and then sighed. “You’re right about that, but seriously, I can still do things. Can you restore my system access? Is there anything I can help with?”
“I thought you were being discharged in a day or two. You’ll have access to all your things then. Your lab and all that.”
Noah snorted derisively. “Like Kara is going to let me do anything. She'll no doubt have some kind of lockout in place so I can focus on recovery. But I can’t just sit around. I have to do something.”
Connor leaned back in his chair and regarded Noah for a few moments. “You want to do something?” he asked.
Noah’s brow wrinkled. “Yes.”
Connor gestured toward his empty cup. “I could use a little more coffee.”
Noah frowned for a moment and then looked at the empty cup. He squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head, and laughed. “I think I can handle that.”
Noah got them both a refill and sat back down. “I guess I walked right into that, didn't I?”
“I had to take a shot. It was a target-rich opportunity that I couldn’t walk away from,” Connor said.
Noah sighed and slumped back into his chair.
Connor had seen this behavior before with wounded soldiers. They wanted to get back out there and prove that they hadn't been affected by their injuries. Sometimes it was better to just let them push their limits.
“I don’t think there’s any harm in you reading a few reports or looking at some stuff. I’ll make sure you have what you need,” Connor said.
“Thank you, Connor. That means the world to me,” Noah said and paused for a moment. “I haven’t heard you mention Sean. What’s he doing these days?”
Connor drank his coffee and told Noah about Trident Battle Group. “We just completed a reconnaissance mission, and they found part of a ship's wreckage, but it was from retreating through the space gate. We think there was a battle and they were leaving. If they’d been destroyed, there would’ve been more wreckage to find. So, it’s safe to say there’s a good chance that Sean and the rest of the battle group are still alive. We just don’t understand why they haven’t come home yet.”
Noah looked at him with a bemused expression. “You really don’t know why Sean hasn’t returned?” he asked and then added. “You?”
Connor frowned for a moment and shook his head.
“The mission. Sean’s objective. He won’t come home until he’s accomplished whatever his mission was. You guys are so much alike in that respect. That’s why he hasn’t come back,” Noah said.
“Maybe,” Connor agreed. “They were fighting a battle, and there could’ve been damage to the space gate. It’s been ninety days though. I would’ve expected some kind of contact. But I understand what you’re saying.”
They left the cafeteria, and Connor walked Noah back to his room. Noah paused outside the doorway, looking as if he didn’t want to go in.
“You know,” Connor said, “I could probably get you out of here. Have someone pick us up on the roof. They’ll never find out.”
Noah smiled and grinned. “Kara would find out, and then I’d have hell to pay.”
“Maybe they can give you a different room,” Connor suggested.
Noah glared at the empty hospital room. “I have nowhere else to go,” he said quietly.
“Why don’t we go back outside then?”
Noah shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He walked over to the bed and more or less collapsed onto it. Rolling over to his side, he was soon asleep. Connor watched him for a few moments and then closed the door as he left the room.
23
Sean entered the galley. It was midmorning, standard time, and technically they were still in the middle of the shift, so it wasn’t as crowded as it would be later. Since it was between breakfast and lunchtime, there was a sandwich-making station for those who were coming in on their off-hours. Sean grabbed a couple of slices of rye bread, put some egg salad on one end, a few pieces of the lettuce, and topped it off with a few slices of bacon. He pushed the top slice down with his hand and walked over to the gleaming coffee station where he found a freshly made pot that smelled like a medium roast blend with hints of vanilla and caramel. He filled his mug and added some cream and sugar. There was no shortage of open tables, and he saw Oriana sitting by herself. Her back was to him, but there was no mistaking her long, velvety black hair. She was tall and slender, and her science team uniform hugged her subtle curves in all the right ways. He walked over. She was peering at the technical specs of the space gates.
“Want some company?” Sean asked.
Oriana looked up at him. Her face was sweetly angelic, sort of girl-next-door pretty. She smiled and gestured for him to join her.
Sean sat down. The remains of her own breakfast were evident—a healthy mix of fruits and vegetables with the remnants of eggs—and he wondered why she never finished everything on her plate. His plate would be devoid of even a crumb when he was finished.
“I didn’t hear you leave this morning. Sneaking away in the middle the night?”
Oriana glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Then her gaze narrowed. “We decided to be discreet.”
The words stung just a little bit, but Sean nodded. They’d been casual for almost the entire time they’d been in this universe. “Word travels fast, and we’re old news.”
“I doubt we’re news at all. Regardless, people talk no matter what,” Oriana said and tilted her head to the side. “It bothers you that I left.”
Sean shook his head a little too quickly. “No, I was just surprised, is all.”
“Uh huh,” she said, sounding unconvinced.
“What were you working on?” Sean asked, deciding that changing the subject would be best.
“I was looking at the space gates design spec again.”
Sean took a bite of his sandwich and nodded. “I’m sure you could see it with your eyes closed.”
Oriana smiled and gave a slight roll of her eyes. “Probably,” she agreed. “I just don’t know how the Ovarrow could reverse engineer anything like this on their own.”
“We don’t know how long the Krake had been around to influence them.”
“No, I understand all that. But still, I think they must have had help, or maybe they found the Krake technical manual of all things related to the space gate.”
Sean raised an eyebrow. “Just one volume, or the whole set?”
Oriana smiled and shook her head. “Okay, maybe not that, but I still think they had help.”
“Like who?” Sean asked, finishing his sandwich.
Oriana pressed her lips together. “I don’t know.”
A short distance away a group of soldiers was sitting together, and their discussion was becoming heated. Sean couldn’t hear the specifics of it, but the tone was enough. Fuses were running short. A few glances in his direction were enough to prompt the others into quelling the argument before it had a chance to get out of control.
“There’s been a lot of that lately,” Oriana said.
“Tensions are always higher before a major operation,” Sean replied. But he knew it was more than that. Three months of hiding from the Krake while they repaired their ships and the space gate were taking their toll.
Oriana glanced at the soldiers for a few moments and looked back at Sean. “My brother is a bit of a hothead, always letting the pressure get to him. He wouldn’t like being on a ship like this.”
Sean leaned forward. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“Colton. He’s my younger brother. I've never brought it up before.”
“Why not?”
“You never seem to want to talk about family.”
Sean frowned. “I guess I never gave it much thought.” He hated how that sounded as soon as he said it. “I figured you’d bring it up if you wanted to talk about it. It’s just me and my mother now.”
“Do you think she’ll remarry and have more children?”
Sean’s mind went blank. “My mother? I have no idea.” He'd never really given it much thought. It was his mother, after all. “I suppose she could if she wanted,” he said and looked away from her, shaking his head.
Oriana grinned. “You do realize that your mother was a woman before she was your mother. She has a long life ahead of her. You can’t expect her to be alone.”
Sean reached for his coffee and almost knocked it over. “No, of course not. I just never—Do we really need to talk about my mother?”
Oriana’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
Sean held up his hand. “I do acknowledge that my mother is a woman, and she certainly has the option to live her life as she wants. It’s just not something I ever talk to her about.”
Oriana smiled, pleased with herself, and he liked seeing it. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Your brother,” Sean began. “What does he do back at the colony?”
“He studied field biology but decided he’d rather work for Field Ops and Security.”
Sean drank some coffee. “You don’t approve?”
“He doesn’t work well under pressure.”
Sean shrugged. “Maybe he’ll outgrow it.”
Oriana shook her head. “He’s always been that way. High strung. I don’t think Field Ops is the best place for him.”
Sean finished his coffee and they were both quiet for a few moments, each in their own thoughts. He didn't have any siblings. The closest people he had to brothers were Noah and Lars.
“There really isn’t any other way, is there?” Oriana asked.
The operation they were about to execute was on everyone’s mind. “We’ve done all the repairs we can do, and we’ve studied the Krake operation in this universe. It’s strange that they had so many ships coming to where we are in this universe, but I guess since it's an industrial complex, it would make sense that there was some protection here. However, it doesn’t explain why that same level of protection isn’t maintained.”
“Maybe they got called away to deal with something else,” she said. “There’s a lot we don’t understand about them.”
“Do you think you have the targeting figured out?” Sean said.
They hadn’t been able to go back to New Earth because of the damage to their space gate and the fact that there'd been a serious flaw in how they'd targeted their home universe. Oriana and the rest of the science team had run themselves ragged trying to figure it out.
“The calculations work, but without an actual field test, we won’t really know,” Oriana replied.
“We talked about this before. I can’t risk the Krake learning that we're here.”
