Jack's Moonlighting Pt. 01

Jack nodded to her. "Of course. I know you are performing amazing work, and I have every faith in you and Taggart!"

It was Jack's turn to sigh. "Thank you for checking on the collar and for giving me hope." He rubbed his face as he was beginning to feel worn out. "I think I've had enough excitement today. If you don't mind, I think I'll find my quarters and catch some sleep."

"Of course, Jack. See you in the morning."

Jack headed back out into the corridor, where he picked up his escort. Gee and Bal were instantly alert as they saw his expression.

"Rikki?" Gee asked gently.

He looked at her curiously, then raised a hand. "Inconclusive. Rikki may be there, or it could just be a shitload of data from Allsa One. We won't know until they have the new drone ready for Rikki to inhabit." Jack looked to their guide. "I'd like to go to my room."

"Yes, Shadeem," a shorter but broad-shouldered male said and headed down the corridor with a gesture to follow.

As they walked, Bal moved closer and looked up at his hair. "Why are you blond?"

Jack nodded with a smile. He knew they preferred his hair to match their color. "That happened when I was on the world Rikki dumped me on. I broke some fingers when I destroyed the Allsa Komanae servers for Rikki. Which reminds me, I need new gloves." Bal pulled a pair from a pocket in her gown, which were his size. He accepted them with a surprised smile and tucked them away.

"I was taken for medical treatment, and the being in charge, whose face appeared on a monitor, indicated it had repaired genetic damage caused by... overlay instruction improperly tacked onto my genes. The only impact was cosmetic, so they went ahead with the fix. This was the result."

"You have any idea where you were?" Gee asked.

Jack yawned. "Nope. Never been there before. Felt empty. Silent, like a tomb. Beautifully preserved gardens and groomed lawns, but I detected no life besides plants. Not even insects, as far as I could tell.

They reached the door to a suite, and their guide brought them inside. Jack's eyes widened at the posh furnishings in the room. A second set of doors inside led to the bedroom. The bed was enormous.

His pack was on a small table next to the bed.

Jack turned back to the Ishilon. "What's your name?"

The male smiled. "Norress, Shadeem."

"Thank you, Norress, for guiding us around the ship. Sorry you got saddled with such a dull duty," Jack said with a smile.

"It was my honor, Shadeem," the young male replied.

"You can call me Jack. It's okay."

Norress grinned and bowed. "Thank you, Shadeem."

Jack sighed. He was too tired to argue.

"I will take your companions to their room—"

"We will sleep here," Gee said.

Norress looked at Jack, and he just nodded. "Shall I have their luggage brought here?"

"Yes," Jack said. "Good night." He tipped his head to the Ishilon and entered the bedroom to prepare for bed.

A few minutes later, Gee and Bal joined him with their bags. Gee frowned as she saw Jack stretched out on the bed. "Are you well?" she asked.

Jack opened his eyes. "Yes, I'm just feeling so worn out. The day just took more out of me than I expected."

He closed his eyes again. He resurfaced as soft hands brushed his hair away from his ear. He smiled then something hard poked into his ear canal. That was rude.

"Fever," a voice said.

Then he was out.

-=-

"Jack? Can you hear me?"

He felt warm, but he shivered. Then the voice registered in his mind. "Rikki?"

"Why are you cold?"

Jack thought that was a silly question. He was warm. More importantly, Rikki was speaking to him?

"Rikki?" he said aloud.

"Get him in the ice bath."

Jack didn't recognize that voice immediately and didn't like what it said.

"GAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Jack yelled as his body dropped into the frigid waters. His eyes flew wide open, and he saw Gee and Bal assisting Chena with dunking him in a large tub filled with ice and water.

"FUCK! What? AHHH! Cold!" Jack yelled. The adrenaline was perking his brain up, but his thoughts felt sluggish. He awkwardly tried to climb out of the tub, but Gee and Bal knocked his hands off the sides, and he went under the surface.

When the cold surrounded his head, he felt a deep pulse in his brain. He went still as it actually felt good. His hands were still above the surface, and he felt Gee and Bal grasp them to pull him up, but he clumsily shook them off. His thoughts slowed again, and the pulse came back and calmed him. Hands gently lifted his face above the surface just enough to let him breathe.

He tried to open his eyes, but his brain said no, and he faded again.

-=-

Jack slowly became aware of the softness and warmth pressing on both sides of his body. He eased his eyes open slowly, and his vision swam momentarily. Then slowly, his surroundings came into focus. He was in a hospital bed... in a sick bay. Gee and Bal were squeezed up against his sides. The machine next to the bed made a gentle ping sound, and moments later, Chena entered the room and approached.

The two Altarians were immediately awake and looked up at Jack in concern.

"What am I doing here?" Jack asked. The two shared a look that Jack thought might have been relief then they slipped off the bed to pull on their gowns.

Chena stopped next to his bed. "Shadeem, how are you feeling."

Jack did an internal check and felt much better than he had when he was brought to his suite. "Good. Rested. Really hungry."

Chena smiled. "That's very good."

"What happened? Why am I here?" Jack asked.

Chena nodded. "I'm going to invite some people who can shed some light on it for you." He gestured over his shoulder, and Tito and Bayly entered the sick bay to join Chena beside the bed.

Bayly dropped to her knees and bowed her head. "I'm so sorry, Ambassador Danner!"

Tito looked at her, then at Jack. "Yes, we're sorry for not identifying that the plague virus Bayly was carrying might actually be dangerous to you."

Jack fixed his eyes on the Tik. "Plague virus? I caught a plague?"

"A Dannt genetically engineered virus, to be precise. We believe the same virus wiped out most of their race centuries ago. We confirmed it's in Bayly. The survivors are carriers of the virus and immune to it. It only targets specific receptors in Dannt brains, so the Tik rated it as safe for Gate travel. We obviously missed the unique flexibility of your hybrid genome."

Chena was excited and jumped in. "Your body's distinct immune system managed to defeat it... with some external assistance. Not only did you fight it off, but your body produced an antibody, which eradicates the virus. I've been able to synthesize it in my lab. We can provide an extremely potent antivirus inoculation to the Dannt populace to purge the virus completely."

Jack blinked at him. "If they are all immune to it, why do they need a vaccine?" He finally noticed Bayly was still on her knees. "Bayly, please stand."

Tito answered that. "Ambassador Danner, while hybrids are extremely rare, you aren't the only one who might become infected. You were fortunate to be in a place with top-tier medical care available. The Dannt Gates only move between their three worlds. Unless the disease is eliminated at the source permanently, the Gates will remain closed to the Network, and Bayly will be the only Dannt to have ever traveled beyond their worlds."

She made a little sound of dismay.

"Ah, okay. So... how did I catch it?" Jack asked.

Bayly looked down at her feet, and her hands were clenched at her side. "I kissed you," she said quietly.

Jack recalled the moment with a smile. "Ah, yes. The kiss."

Bayly dropped to her knees, bent forward, and pressed her forehead to the floor. "Please, Ambassador Danner! Don't punish my people for my mistake! Please continue the rescue mission!"

Jack's eyebrows rose. "Bayly! I'm not stopping the mission over this! Don't be silly! I don't hold you responsible. Please stand up."

She did and approached the bed as he held out a hand. She put one of hers in it.

"Please call me Jack. That goes for you too, Tito," Jack insisted. He looked over to Chena. "How long was I out?"

"Roughly sixty hours. You slipped in and out of consciousness, and we had to resort to ice baths when your temperature spiked. Your metabolism has returned to normal," the doctor explained.

"So, we're just a day and a half out? Any issues with the transit?" Jack asked as his thumb absently stroked across the back of Bayly's hand.

"None. It's my impression that Peacekeeper remains undiscovered, but you might wish to confirm with Lorrem as that's his area of expertise." Chena said. "I would like to discuss with you and young Bayly the possibility of her being the first to take the vaccine. She could determine what impact it will have for her people to be free of the disease."

"What does that mean?" Bayly asked Jack.

"The doctor would like you to accept an injection of the medicine to determine how it affects you while it removes the virus. You may show symptoms like I had, worse, or maybe nothing at all. We don't know," Jack said.

"Do you want me to?" Bayly asked.

Jack released her hand and held his up. "This decision has to be completely yours." He looked at Chena. "How dangerous could this be for her?"

"As Tito so accurately remarked, she is in a top-tier medical care facility. We can ensure she receives immediate and comprehensive treatment. However, as this virus bonds to very specific receptor sites in the brain, among its other effects, I cannot give any guarantees. We don't know what these receptor sites are responsible for in a Dannt brain. The sites themselves will not be affected, but the viruses will be eliminated from them."

Jack looked at Bayly. "So, there is some danger. Chena will watch you closely and respond quickly with all his expertise, but there might be some things he won't be able to fix if something goes wrong. We could also ask someone else from your world to be the first patient. The alternative is you and your people don't take the vaccine, and the Dannt continue to live on your planets but will not be able to spread out into the Gate Network. If that wasn't important to your people, and some races choose to stay home, there is no need to take the vaccine."

Bayly shook her head. "Now that I've seen what the Gate Network has to offer, I can't imagine my people being denied the opportunity to meet so many interesting people and experience all the amazing worlds to visit. If we can enlighten our leaders to the point where they get past their fear of technology, I want the Dannt to be free to travel the Gate Network. I'm willing to take the chance to make that possibility available for them."

Jack smiled at her. "Bayly, no one can deny your love for your people or how brave you are." She smiled shyly at him.

Chena was pleased too. "The first thing we'll need to do is a complete scan of your body as a before state. Then we'll do another once we determine the virus has been eliminated from your body."

Tito moved forward. "I can provide the scan if Bayly approves." Chena bowed acceptance to the Tik, and Bayly nodded to Tito. It projected a slow pass of a green light beam over her body from head to toe.

Chena approached her with an injector. "What do I need to do?" she asked. He pressed it against her arm, and it made a little puff sound.

"That's it," Chena said with a smile. "I suggest you lie down on the next bed, and we'll monitor your condition over the next day. The antibodies shouldn't take long to begin removing the virus."

With another shy smile at Jack, Bayly got onto the bed next to his and rested back.

"I'll stay here if you want some company," Jack offered, and she quickly nodded.

Jack turned to Gee and Bal. "Thank you for getting me through this. I have strange flashes of memory of you two helping Chena with me."

"They were indispensable, especially when it came to the ice baths. A most distasteful experience for an Ishilon but very effective for dealing with your fever," Chena added.

Jack froze as another memory surfaced. "I-I heard Rikki talking to me at one point."

Chena nodded. "You spoke aloud in your fevered state. Apparently, your parents were also speaking to you," he said gently.

Jack leaned back on the bed. "Ah... okay." His sudden spike of hope dimmed once more. He rubbed his fingers over the surface of his slave collar.

The two Altarians patted his arm, then left without another word. Likely to get some decent sleep after the ordeal. He'd give them hugs later when they had some privacy.

"I'm thankful you've recovered," Tito said, then followed them out.

Chena placed a monitor band on Bayly's wrist and touched the monitor's controls on the bed to ensure the readings were coming through. With a satisfied nod, he turned back to Jack. "I'll have someone bring you a meal."

"Thank you for everything, Chena!" Jack said.

"It was my pleasure, Shadeem," the doctor said with a little bow before he left.

Bayly smiled over at him. "They really respect you!"

Jack smiled self-consciously. "That never stops feeling strange."

"How did you become their Shadeem?" Bayly asked.

Jack absently touched his collar again. "That's a long story."

Bayly's smile slipped. "I'm sorry for intruding on something you don't wish to discuss."

He smiled. "No, it's okay. I suppose we have time if you'd like to hear it."

Bayly's smile returned two-fold, so Jack began.

Jack's meal arrived an hour later, so he took a break from telling the story. He'd been watching Bayly closely to see if she exhibited any symptoms.

Norress set up a table and served Jack some sandwiches and soup. He leaned over to take in the savory scent. "That smells delicious!"

"Jack? I don't smell anything," Bayly said.

He smiled at her. "You can't smell the soup?" He gestured for Norress to hold it before her.

She moved her face over it and shook her head. "I can't smell it. I've lost my sense of smell!"

"Ah! That's gotta be a symptom," Jack said as Norress placed the soup back on Jack's table. "Norress, could you let Chena know the first symptom has appeared?" The Ishilon rushed away.

"OHH!" Bayly exclaimed as she suddenly leaned away from Jack's dinner, then sneezed violently as she held her hands over her nose.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked as Bayly's eyes watered.

"My sense of smell came back, and it's so strong! The soup is overwhelming!"

Chena quickly reached Bayly. "Your sense of smell disappeared but came back stronger?"

Bayly nodded, then moved her hands away from her face. "Yes... but it's not as strong as before. It smells good."

Jack and Chena stayed with Bayly for the next few hours as her senses came and went. Luckily her vision only dimmed momentarily. During a lull, Jack nodded off and had a lovely dream about his kids. He was reclining on a lounge chair on his patio behind his house. A party was going on, and the kids were playing in the valley below. They took turns visiting Jack, and he got hugs from each.

"What's the matter, Bayly?" Chena asked, waking Jack with the concern in his voice.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he looked across at Bayly, and she was staring at him with wide, teary eyes.

"Were... were you dreaming of something happy... about someone you love?" she asked with a tight voice.

Jack's jaw dropped. "You can see my dreams?" he gasped.

She shook her head. "No! I can... feel your emotions!"

"What? How... how do you know it's me?" Jack asked uncomfortably, as it was too close to what only Rikki got to share. His heart clenched as he thought of his Tik buddy.

A few tears escaped Bayly's eyes. "Your emotions are very strong, and they feel like you. I'm sorry if I'm invading your privacy. I-I don't know how to stop it."

Chena was standing on the other side of her bed. "I'd like to ask Tito to run another scan. Perhaps we will see if a previously inactive area of your brain has become active since the inoculation."

Bayly nodded, and Chena rushed away. She looked back at Jack with an apologetic expression.

"You can't feel Chena's emotions? He seemed rather excited," Jack said.

She shook her head. "The only one I can detect is you. As I said, your emotions are so intense."

Jack nodded. "I'm going to try something. A little trick my friends Gee and Bal taught me for preparing for battle."

The Dannt beauty watched him carefully as Jack closed his eyes. He recalled the Altarian lessons for focusing his mind into a serene state. Calm. Quiet. Still. Control.

When he opened his eyes again, Bayly was smiling sweetly at him. "Better?" he asked.

"Almost completely gone. With my eyes closed, I can still sense your presence in the room, but you're no longer projecting your emotions.

Tito rushed into the room with Chena and approached her bed.

"You still can't detect them?" Jack asked.

Bayly closed her eyes, then shook her head.

"Are you well, Bayly?" Tito asked, and she opened her eyes to face the Tik.

"It has been a little frightening with my senses fading away, but they eventually came back," she replied.

"She seems to have gained a new sense as well. If you could perform a new scan?" Chena asked with a smile.

Bayly slipped off the bed to stand beside it, then Tito completed another slow scan.

"I'm not detecting the virus in her brain at all. There are a few small areas, dense organ tissues, where the virus remains, but I assume these areas will eventually be clear. The antibody is performing remarkably well and expediently," Tito said to the Ishilon doctor, who bowed slightly in thanks.

"Are you detecting any activity differences in her brain?" Chena asked eagerly.

Tito reviewed the two scans and projected two images on the wall beside Bayly's bed. "The one on the left is the before scan, and you can see this dark area on the right-side lobe. In the after scan, that area is very active." Tito looked at Chena. "What does it do?"

Chena gestured to Bayly to be the one who answered, and she smiled shyly. "I can sense Jack's emotions."

Tito looked at Jack and then back to Bayly. "Just Jack?" She nodded.

The Tik moved to Jack's bed. "May I do a scan of you?"

Jack sighed as he knew this was coming. It wasn't like Jinnae didn't put him under the microscope every chance she got. "Fine."

"May I have a copy of the scan, Shadeem?" Chena asked hopefully, and Jack nodded.

He slipped out of bed to let Tito perform the same full-body scan he'd done for Bayly.

"Oh! I had no idea how extensively the collar's filaments penetrated your nervous system," Tito sighed.

Jack sighed once more at the unwelcome reminder.

Tito returned to his former spot and projected the before and after scans for Bayly's brain, then he added the scan of Jack's brain next to them. The anatomy was different, so it was difficult to make any comparisons. The Tik looked to the doctor. "Do you have a scan of Jack's brain prior to a week ago?"

"I don't," the Ishilon doctor lamented.

"My Altarian doctor will. Jinnae takes scans of me every time I go in for the slightest thing. She'll have the most comprehensive record of my development since I first began working on Altaria," Jack said.

Chena was staring at him. "I would very much like to see that data."

Jack snorted softly. "As would a bunch of other doctors and a certain Maghadahn university student who's enrolled in xenobiology." He frowned. "I still owe her for helping us when we visited."

"I will share the scans I've made with you," Tito told Chena.

Jack looked into Bayly's eyes. "I wonder if this was an ability your people lost because of the plague." He frowned as he recalled something Tito said. He looked at the Tik. "You said the plague was caused by a genetically engineered virus?"