Fire and Forget: A true story from the archives of the Time Travel Forces! by Scott Azmus
Author:Scott Azmus [Azmus, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hawk’s Grove Press
Published: 2019-09-29T22:00:00+00:00
Chapter 15
Ordinarily, standing stark naked in front of a big picture window would bother him. He is dirty. Unshaven. Every joint aches. He canât breathe through his nose. When he probes the side of his head, crusted blood flakes like dandruff. His knees flex and tremble. When he does breathe, ragged discomfort skewers his ribs.
A peripheral, gemlike dazzle of sunlight flares. Although one of his eyes has swollen to a slit, he can still make out the blue-green swell of âTarich 17-5.â
Why is he moving in such a trance? He can barely comprehend that the Uyuni have transferred them to an observation lounge. There are no shipâs controls here. There are no gravity plates other than those integral to the deck. The cube confining MaluÅ¡e glows from the center of a small platform. Water gurgles and drips underfoot. The air smells of organic grit and compost.
âIf you two had asses,â says Sayre, speaking to *Ruta* and *Pule*, âIâd tell you to shove your damned plan up your asses.â Voice dripping with fatigue, she adds, âI donât care how often such âintegrationsâ have proved âbeneficial.â Thereâs no way weâre sitting idle while you basically flay open our backsides! And thatâs especially true if youâre on your way toward splicing bundles of alien, neural wetware to our central nervous systems! Given what you say youâve learned from Chantree here, I donât see the reason in that. If weâre useless, weâre useless. If human beings are so pathetically âsavageâ and no better than âlivestock gone rabid,â why the lingering interest? And what about Belfrage? Where are you taking him?â
When the Iithek intone something about âuseful idiotsâ and âprobes,â Daryle canât quite absorb the underlying import. Head swimming, he glances at the others. Doctor Toft. Garith. Arora. And back to Sayre. Why is everyone naked? And all so pale? So bruised? And why are there only two Iithek?
Garith stares vacantly. When Arora closes her eyes, her lips move in silent, repeated curses. Eyes downcast, Doctor Toft may be solving physics equations in his head.
âKeeping him as a representative sample?â says Sayre. âEff that! Iâm sorry, but that doesnât work for me. The man needs medical attention. Urgent care, and pretty damn quick. Look, why not send Belfrage back with the rest of our team? Iâll take his place here. Willingly. Voluntarily. You wonât even have to drug me. Or place me under house arrest. Iâve trained for this as much as anyone. No lie. Coping with foreign political types? Aggressive regional commanders? Itâs all part of our normal training rotation. Why not let me act as humanityâs ambassador to your homeworld?â
Daryleâs ears are ringing. Along with twinging and throbbing, his skull feels buoyant.
Whatâs the oxygen level here?
And why isnât he following more of this? Then again ⦠additionally, why isnât he more interested in Sayre or Arora? In checking them out? Arenât they buck-naked at the moment? And standing right there and ⦠there?
He dreads the worst; imagines the worst. Does he have brain damage?
Weaving and self-absorbed, he stares down at his hands.
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