Page 29 of Hainn

She heard the sounds of chairs moving and footsteps heading for the doors but kept her head on Hainn’s broad chest, focusing on his steady heartbeat to try to calm herself. There was a soft whirring sound behind her and MARL said, “I didn’t approve of what he did to her but he was my authority.”

“No excuse,” she said. “Did you help him?”

“Not with her. I registered my protest and was punished. He used another unit on board our ship to assist him when I refused. I couldn’t help her though because by the time I was released from the punishment chamber she was already dead and preserved.” MARL sounded sad. “Her death at Nindjak’s hands is part of why I’ve done everything I could to help Jill and those she cares for, even at the ultimate expense of my own existence. Jill is my second chance. The Badari are my redemption.”

Now Jezari raised her head, brushing away tears. MARL was about six inches away, completely dark save for one tiny blinking red dot. “I know about second chances,” she said, not sure she believed him entirely but there was no way to prove anything different had happened. The Badari instinct for detecting lies didn’t work as well with an AI. “If there’s anything in the wreck which will help you, we need to go retrieve it.”

“Thank you.” There was a shrill beep and MARL and the antigrav tray floated away, going out of the room.

Hainn settled her in the chair Keshara had been using and brought her a mug of tea from the unit on the credenza in thefar corner. She cupped her hands around the hot drink, seeking to calm herself. He sat in the next chair and took her hand but remained silent. Jezari sipped the tea, savoring the spices and the hit of extra energy. “I get myself and her confused a bit in my head,” she admitted, unable to meet his eyes. “Trapped for the purposes of another being, doomed, unable to escape. I have nightmares about her now in addition to my own. I found her on my last dive to the wreck and she’s haunted me ever since.”

He lifted her out of the chair and into his lap, where she cuddled close as he hugged her. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I wish you’d told me.”

“As my healer?”

“As your would-be mate,” he said firmly. “And as a friend.” Handing her the tea again, he waited while she drank most of it, then said, “Aydarr and the others are going to want a full report in a couple of minutes. They’re used to crisp military style summaries and will ask for more details if they need any. He gave you this time to pull yourself together so you can give him such a report.”

“Or what? What aren’t you saying?” Jezari set the mug on the table with a clink.

“Timtur could take the memories from your mind by force,” Hainn said reluctantly. “You’d come to no lasting harm but it would be unpleasant and traumatic no doubt.” He gave a bitter laugh. “And I’d get myself gutted by my own Alpha for trying to interfere because I wouldn’t let them do that to you unwillingly.”

She took a deep breath. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to keep my emotions under control but on the topic of the lady of the lake I’m not exactly rational.”

“Tell them that—the Alphas will understand. We all have our buried traumas and hidden pain from our days in the labs, even Aydarr.” He checked the wall chrono. “They’ll be coming back in two minutes.”

Sliding off his lap, she gave him a kiss and straightened her clothes. “I’m ready. Stay with me?”

I’ll sit right behind you, where you were seated before, all right?” He sent her a pulse of warm emotion through their telepathic link. “And I’ll be as close as a thought if I’m needed.”

Jezari gave him a grateful smile as the door opened and people drifted into the room. There was a low hum of conversation but she ignored all of them, sitting in what had been Keshara’s chair, her hands folded. She prayed to the Great Mother to give her strength. Her Alpha came in and sat next to Jezari, giving her a hug.

“I had no idea you were off doing such dangerous things even before you went surfing,” she said. “You shouldn’t have been diving so deep on your own. What if something happened and we lost you?”

“After being in the life sucking pod I didn’t care what risks I took in the life which was given back to me,” Jezari said truthfully. “I have other things to consider now. Things have changed.”

Keshara flicked a glance at Hainn but made no further comment. Jezari restrained herself from rubbing her belly. Yes, Hainn was part of her new mindset but the baby growing inside her was the most important thing in her life right now. She wanted her cub to have the best chance at life and right now the continuation of Sanctuary Valley was the safest bet, if MARL could be repaired.

Aydarr’s Alpha power could be sensed even before he entered the room and the chatter died down immediately as he and Jill and MARL arrived.

“Jezari, are you ready to relate what you’ve found at the bottom of the lake?” he asked.

More in command on her feet, she rose and met his eyes. “I am.”

Aydarr made a hand gesture as if to say get on with it.

“I’ve made the dive to the wreck four times, after a number of preparatory dives,” she said, launching into her story. Trying to keep what Hainn had said in mind, she presented the high points as unemotionally as possible, which was hard when she got to the part about what she’d found in the hold, but she finished without breaking down. Hainn’s light touch in her mind was like a touchstone enabling her to hold onto her serenity.

“And there were parts of the control chamber remaining operative?” Aydarr said, going back to what she’d said earlier. “MARL, what would we be searching for?”

There was a rusty squeak and MARL shifted on the antigrav tray before projecting a holo in front of the Supreme Alpha. Jezari leaned forward to see it more clearly. “Yes, the image resembles the panel which was lit up when I was there.”

“It would be self contained,” MARL said, “Independent of the ship’s power. If it could be removed and brought to the surface, to me, I might be restored.” A faint swath of pink swooped through the black and dark gray on his carapace.

“If this is even the right module,” Daegan said with disdain, “It’s as old as you are and has been through a crash landing besides. How is it going to help?”

“Even if it only bought us a bit more time, it would make our withdrawal more orderly,” Aydarr said before the AI could answer. “With the chance we could bring MARL to full power for another few thousand years.”

“Nindjak’s people built for the long term,” MARL said. “Ships such as his and AI’s like me were passed through down the generations of a family. I wasn’t meant to operate independently for such an extended time as I now have. The module, if it truly is intact and functional would have had manytimes the longevity and capacity I possess. You must try to retrieve it.”

---