Page 77 of Aurelian Prisoner

Gods! Ican’ttake it. Ican’ttake her pain. I thought I could – I thought Ineededto – but, instead, all I’m learning now is how horrifying it is when Allie suffers.

I swear to myself that I’llneverlet anyone hurt her, or ever take her from me. Allie ismine, by the will of the Gods, and Iwillkeep her safe wherever she goes.

The surgical beam mercifully stops. Allie lies in the chair, panting desperately. She’s faint – her eyes barely focusing.

I hate to ask this next question – but I must.

“Do you want the other modification fixed? The shift-disrupter?”

My question is a probe.

Most conventional ships use combustion engines – driven by fusion or anti-matter engines. Only Aurelian Empire ships, Toad battle cruisers, and a few of the very wealthiest of humans have access to Orb-Drives.

Yet her device isspecificallydesigned to disrupt Orb-Shifts.

If she agrees – if she does want her shift-disrupter re-activated, it can only mean that somewhere along the line, she's planning to use it again.

The question is – why?

It’s clear why she had the shift-disrupter implanted – because she was on the run from the Aurelian Law Enforcement, and because Enforcement ships all use Orb-Drive technology. She knew the device could give her an opportunity to escape.

But now she’s with us… Does she want to have the device reactivated to use it against us? To escape us once again, when our Orb-Drive is finally repaired?

Or does she merely want to be prepared – in case she’s captured by another group of Aurelians. Whether Empire-affiliated, or Rogue, does Allie view that as a real possibility?

I know I won’t gain any specific information if she asks for her device to be restored – but it will be reassuring if she refuses.

I almost pray shedoesrefuse.

“Yes,” Allie says. “I want it repaired.”

It’s good I didn’t make that prayer, as the Gods have chosen not to answer it.

I swallow. I can grant her this request – but I can’t watch her go through more torture.

“Very well,” I tell her, “but, please, Allie – take a shot of sedation before the procedure this time. I can’t watch you go through that torture again.”

She nods slowly. “Okay. I’ll take a shot.”

One of the probes directed by the AI darts down, pricking her neck with a needle. Instantly, Allie’s pain is soothed – I know, because I feel the relief through the Bond.

While I can’t blame her for needing the pain – because the raw agony of the surgical procedure calmed her from the grief of remembering her little sister – I couldn’t bear to see her suffer any longer.

That’s why, even though I want to ask more about her sibling, I don’t. She doesn’t need that additional emotional pain right now.

I wish I could, though. I’d like to start planning right away about how best to help her track her sister down. Hadrian, Kitos and I might be on the brink of losing our ranks with Aurelian Law Enforcement, but I’m still going to treat this as an official investigation.

In my head, I work through a list of tasks. First, I’ll compile a list of suspects. The disappearance was years ago, which is going to complicate things, but I’ve solved two missing persons cases before and I know the procedure.

The only bad part? Both times, the missing person I’d been seeking had been killed long before I’d even begun searching for them.

Time is not on our side. I want to ask more questions, but I’m not going to while Allie’s under sedation and still dealing with her grief. Instead, I keep my mouth shut. Allie has suffered enough today. She’s faced enough challenges. I don’t want her being trapped in grief to be an additional one.

The steel tentacles of the AI begin their work again, this time searing away at the implant in her left arm. No pain flares through the Bond this time. Our Aurelian pain relief is much more effective than the crude hydro-morphines and opiates used by human surgeons. Allie will sleep peacefully during this procedure, and will wake up fully healed and with her device working once again. In fact, the AI takes only three minutes to restore the shift-disrupter on her left arm – recharging the capacitor cell within it to allow for another disruptive pulse.

I hope I’m not making a foolish mistake by giving her the back the very same tools she’d planned to use to take us down. I’m wary – but if I want our mate to trust and respect us, I have to demonstrate trust and respect first.

And at least now, if another Aurelian triad tries to grab her, they won’t be able to Orb-Shift away. She’ll have a weapon to use against them – and we’ll be able to catch up to her.

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