Continued From Part 4

Twenty minutes seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye, it might have been because he was in considerable pain, or maybe he was just tired. Either way, the sounds of emergency vehicles and even a helicopter woke him from his dazed state. He sat up straight and waited for the arrival of the officers and paramedic team.

He rolled his head and looked at the man on the floor, he was still out cold. He must have hit him harder than he thought, but he was still breathing so that was a bonus. Siyel would never believe him if his prisoner just happened to die right before she arrived.

He heard the sound of rushing feet and tensed instinctively, his hand twitched towards his holster. He forced himself to relax, Caesar would have alerted him if enemies were on their way up to him. It would be impolite to shoot one of the medics just because he was still hyped up on adrenaline.

He raised a hand in greeting as an armoured paramedic swept around the corner followed closely by their escort. While it was generally considered very bad manners to shoot a medic, it happened on occasion enough to warrant the use of body armour when in hot zones. While the medics refused to carry weapons they were often followed by aegis troopers. Aegis troopers were trained as medics but also as soldiers. They were the claws to the paramedics soothing touch, and woe be unto those who hurt an aegis trooper's paramedic partner, for they would show the aggressor no mercy.

The white armoured medic rushed over to him without a pause while the aegis trooper paused in the door to scan for hostiles, the gray armoured Nerivith gave Balinski a cold penetrating stare as she finished scanning the room. Likely warning him off from causing any distress to the Slaaveth male checking him for injury.

"Qui, stop staring daggers at the man and come help me. He's not a threat, at least not to me." The medic added looking at the mess in the far corner of the room.

Balinski smiled and said in his rough voice "Wouldn't dream of it doc. Would hate to be so bad mannered."

"Frank, you know protocol, you patch up the wounded and I stay alert, you want a repeat of last Friday?" Qui hissed to Frank.

Balinski just stayed quiet and pretended not to be listening in.

Frank tsked and replied "Now that was hardly your fault, or mine. They told us the perimeter was secure so I followed my protocol. Save as many lives as I can, even that idiot that was trying to put a slug into your back."

Qui grabbed Balinski's shoulders as Frank felt his ribs. He groaned as the Slaaveth pressed a particularly tender spot and the man immediately said "Yep, just as I thought." He looked into Balinski's eyes and said "You have two broken ribs on your right side and a fracture on the lower left. We need a cart up here…" he started to say to Qui before he was cut off.

"No cart, I just need a wrap and something for the pain. I'm not going to waste my time cooped up in the hospital." Balinski said.

The medic frowned and stood before tugging at Balinski's ballistic vest. "Well then tough guy, we are going to need you to take this off, I can't guarantee it's not going to hurt though."

He smiled at the man grimly and stated "I've been through worse believe me."

Frank smiled grimly and helped him raise his arms. Winching, he slid out of his overcoat. Frank undid the clasps that held the ballistic vest on him and he gasped as the pressure was relieved. It felt like a two ton weight had been lifted from his chest, it still hurt though. As Frank pulled the vest off him and he shrugged off his shirt Qui whistled appreciatively.

"Damn tough guy, you weren't kidding." She said as she played her eyes over his chest. His chest was a mass of scar tissue, both from injury and surgery. "What happened to you?" She asked curiously.

Frank grunted and started to trace out various lines and surgical marks on his chest saying "Judging from the depth and amount of incision marks, I would guess he got blown up. Were you in the service?" The medic asked him, his black eyes shining like bottomless pools as he looked into his face.

Balinski frowned and said "Yes, was a ground pounder before. Well, before I got blown up. My power armour saved my life but I still lost all four limbs and my left eye. Most of my internal organs were severely damaged and I was on life support in a rebel prison camp for a year." He said slowly, pain from the memories flooding his mind. His breathing quickened and he knew he was starting to panic, but Caesar wasn't here with him this time.

"Whoa, calm down buddy, we need you to calm it down. Qui, get me a mild sedative, he's having some sort of stress attack." Frank said as Balinski's eyes started to dart around the room. As he tensed his muscles in preparation to move he felt a slight pain in his right shoulder and almost immediately things seemed to grow fuzzy.

He felt a pair of armoured gauntlets hold his shoulders as his muscles seemed to lose all strength and he started to slump out of his chair. "DAMMIT QUI I SAID A MILD SEDATIVE!" He heard the man shout as if from a great distance away.

Another pair of hands, these ones cool and almost leathery gripped his cheeks. He squinted as a bright light shined into his eyes and he was suddenly back at the compound. He began to breathe faster as his long familiar hell returned.

"Nooo, don't go in, it's a trap!" He screamed to his squad. But they ignored him or didn't hear him. He tried to run to them, to at least die with them, but his feet gained no traction on the muddy ground. He slipped and fell, the mud started to flow over him as he sank into it. Gurgling through the muck he tried to gasp for air but he couldn't. His mouth filled with sticky mud and his hands could find no purchase to right himself. As the mud slid down his throat he tried to gag but had no air left, his lungs burned. The burning sensation grew more intense and seemed to spread till his whole body felt as though it was burning from the inside out.

Balinski opened his eyes and groaned. He tried to sit up but a pair of hands held him down. A strangely familiar voice said "Whoa calm down big guy, you almost died. Why didn't you warn us you were allergic to benzodiazepines? You went into anaphylactic shock and we almost didn't catch it in time."

He frowned as he opened his eyes, his vision was slightly fuzzy and he blinked several times before he tried to sit up again. This time it was the pain in his chest that put him back down. "Ooffhh…" he breathed out.

The voice asked him again "What are you doing, lie still you great buffoon. You are going to hurt yourself."

He looked to his left and saw Frank standing there in his white medic armour looking concerned. He smiled lazily and slurred "Oh hey doc. It's so good to see you. Whoa, whas that?"

Frank shook his head and said to someone on his other side "Yup, I think he's going to be okay. You are fine, stop it. It's not your fault, he never said he was allergic." The Slaaveth medic said to someone else.

Balinski frowned. Allergic, him? He turned his head groggily to his other side and saw Qui standing there in her gray armour. Her violet eyes were flushed blue and her normally pink face was colored a shade of purple. "Allergy what?" He asked incomprehensibly. She shook her head and wiped her eyes, she looked as if she had been crying. That didn't make much sense though, she was a tough girl, trained to kill, why would she be crying?

Qui moved slightly closer to him and said quickly "You didn't tell me you were allergic to benzodiazepines so I administered one to you and you almost died of shock." She choked out.

He squinted and then looked around, he was still a little dizzy but it was fading fast. “Benzo what? I'm not allergic to anything, what do you mean?”

“You were having some sort of, panic attack.” Frank began slowly from his other side. He turned to look at the scaled man as he said “Qui gave you a sedative, we were trying to prevent you from hurting yourself. Unfortunately you seem to be allergic, or at the very least had a bad reaction to that particular sedative. So we hooked you up to an IV drip and gave you some adrenaline to help your body burn it off. It seems to have worked as you are back with us.” he finished before looking to his partner.

Qui looked at him and asked “Why didn't you tell us you were allergic, we could have used something else.” she began but he cut her off.

“I told you, I'm not allergic to anything, that I know of at least.” Balinski said more strongly.

She nodded and said “Well, if that's the case then how have you handled all your previous panic attacks?”

He tried to sit up again and asked “Wait, where is Caesar? My dog, where is she?” he started to move but fell back as his chest hurt him again. “Auurrgghh…” he groaned.

“I said stop moving, you are just causing more damage. You are a willy one aren't you. What did they give you for pain when they did all those surgeries?” Qui asked him, pointing to his chest.

Balinski froze at her question. He opened his mouth and closed it several times without noise. As Frank leaned towards him concerned, he looked the medic in his pitch black eyes and said horsley “They didn't…”

Frank frowned “They didn't. What's that supposed to mean… wait, they wouldn't. No…” the man said with distress written across his scaled features.

Qui looked confused and asked Frank “What is it, what did he mean?”

Balinski remained silent and shivered as Frank turned to her and said “He means that he was not anesthetized during his surgeries. He was conscious.”

She frowned and then looked at him aghast. “But, that's monstrous. Why would they, those animals!” she began to shout.

He raised a shaky hand and said quietly “Think about it from their perspective. They are low on supplies and in the middle of a war they can't win. They have wounded soldiers and they have wounded prisoners. Which do you think they are going to use up their existing medication on first?” he said grimly as he swallowed heavily. The painful bite of the surgeon's scalpel cut through his mind like the real thing. He shuddered violently and tried his best to think happier thoughts. “Caesar, where is she, please let me see her.” He begged them.

Qui looked at Frank with an expression of near panic as he started to melt down again. Frank rushed out of his sight and the sound of shouting could be heard in the background. Qui looked torn between rushing after Frank and staying with him but she swore as she rushed to his side.

Putting her hands on either side of his face she said “Hey, hey, focus on me, on me. I need you to focus, that's right.” she said as his eyes wandered over to hers. “That's it, keep looking at me. You are safe, nothing here is going to hurt you.” she continued to say.

After a few seconds the sound of something approaching down the hall could be heard. Qui yelled in surprise as a gray shape tore into the room and arrowed straight for his bed.

Caesar butted her head into his neck as she all but jumped on him. Balinski immediately wrapped her in a hug and buried his face in her fur as he groaned in pain. But the pain he could deal with, what he needed saving from were the memories. They wouldn't leave him alone. His brothers and sisters had been utterly immolated in that explosion. The fact he had been totally helpless in the hands of the enemy for a year. The surgeries in that field hospital, being tied down as he screamed himself hoarse, begging for the doctors to just kill him.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

After what felt like a lifetime his shivering stopped and his heart rate slowed. The beeping of the portable monitor he was attached to slowed and then went silent as he returned to normal.

He heard the sound of someone panting and entering the room on heavy booted feet. “Is.. He.. Better?” Frank panted out.

Qui spoke in response, not quite enough for him to miss “Yes, it seems he has some sort of special connection to that creature.” she spoke as if in awe.

“The medical properties of Human ‘service’ animals are widely documented. Remember that fluffy brown labrador that you told me you wished you had one of?” Frank asked her.

“Yea, that animal was so cute. This one is more savage looking, definitely a predator.” she responded.

Frank chuckled at her response. Balinski listened closer to their conversation as he felt he knew what was coming. Frank continued “Well, believe it or not, this creature is the same species. A different breed, or subspecies if you will, but a Human dog nevertheless.”

Qui said nothing and he could imagine the look of surprise that must have been on her face as Frank gurgled with mirth again. “No way, but it's so much… It's so different. How?” she asked.

Frank’s voice reached him as he continued to hold onto Caesar “Humans seem to have an affinity for taking dangerous things and bending them to their will. Remember the story about that man who got shipwrecked on that hellworld alone, and by the time the rescue ships arrived he had already domesticated the planet's apex predator to be his own personal blanket. They live for that shit. Give a human a stick and they could bring you a Drawsherk hide.” he said reverently. He lowered his voice but Balinski’s enhanced hearing still picked him up as he added “Now this one here. He lost all his limbs and an eye along with who the deep knows how many internal organs. What would you expect someone to do in that case, take it easy?” he paused and Qui must have nodded or answered too quietly for him to hear as Frank continued “Exactly my point. These guys don't know when to quit. I have seen a Human get half his head blown off and walk into the hospital on their own two feet to ask for some pain killers, not sugary, fucking painkillers. They have that adrenaline stuff that makes them fucking indestructible. This guy here has multiple broken ribs and at least one bullet wound. I'll bet you anything he doesn't even know he got shot in the thigh, and he managed to single handedly kill an entire hive of bad guys injured like that..” Balinski frowned. He hadn't gotten shot in the leg… had he?

He looked at Caesar and whispered “I'm okay now girl, I love you too I know. But you're hurting my chest so could you move over?” she whined and shuffled to the side of the bed next to him. He idly patted her head as the two paramedics looked over at him curiously. He smiled and said "They had to replace my ear drums too doctor, I'm afraid I was able to hear your little powwow."

Frank bobbed his head and Qui blushed a deep violet in embarrassment. Frank started to apologize but he waved a hand and said "It's fine, you didn't say anything I wouldn't have said myself. And you know why we had to develop such a strong reactionary system, we evolved on Earth after all, the most dangerous homeworld known so far, except for the Jeseo homewold, Xessiss or something like that right?" Balinski asked.

Qui nodded and said "It's Xeccessinesoor actually, and no, I must admit I'm not too familiar with the Human homeworld. Though I think after this I'm going to go look it up. Er, your Labrador, what's it’s name?" She asked him.

He laughed and then cursed as it hurt. Frank stepped towards him but he raised a hand and said "I'm fine, really. I just need to take it easy for a few days. In the meantime, is commander Siyel on site, I need to speak with her."

Qui and Frank looked at each other and then at him. Qui said slowly "The big woman with the impressive horns? Oh yeah, she wasn't happy when we told her you were unreachable. But doctor's orders, am I right?" She said with a smirk.

Balinski just groaned and said "Speaking of orders, is it against your orders to give me something for the pain?"

Frank responded hotly "No, but pain is the body's way of telling you something isn't right, and I get the feeling you would cause further damage to yourself if you were being medicated." He scolded.

Seeing the look on the medics face he looked to Qui in her gray tactical gear and asked "Is he usually this stubborn?" She smiled as he asked her and shook her head.

"Only with me, he must like you, he is rarely so brutish." She said with a giggle.

Frank just gurgled in frustration and turned to rifle through his medical pack. Finally finding what he was looking for, he exclaimed quietly and then turned back to him. Balinski watched him as he walked over to him and handed him a small container saying "Here, you have been administered these in the past so they should not cause a reaction. Take no more than two per eight hours." Frank told him sternly.

Balinski nodded and shook a single one of the large pink tablets out before recapping the container and stowing it in his pocket. He swallowed the pill and then asked "How long is it supposed to last?"

Frank frowned and said "Well it's hard to tell with you, you are large but are missing a significant portion of your total blood volume due to your cybernetics. Possibly as long as seven hours for you."

As he was mulling it over a series of footsteps could be heard from the hallway. A recognisable voice filtered through to him and he groaned and sat upright before swinging his legs over the side of his bed. He was still in the same room so they must have carted him in preparation to move him out of the building before he woke back up.

Qui gave him a look as he sat up but said nothing as did Frank. He looked around and saw that the unconscious man he had captured was gone. As he was looking around Siyel swept into the room and stopped as she saw the state of him.

Balinski was wrapped up around his ribs with medical gauze and he was bruised and disheveled. But he was alive.

Siyel looked at Frank and asked "May we have some privacy? It will only be for a few minutes." Frank nodded and motioned for Qui to follow. As they exited the room Siyel whirled to face him, hands on her hips, her long tail lashing in apparent annoyance.

Balinski sighed and scratched Caesar's ears for comfort before he said "I know what you are going to say. Yes I should have told you about this place and waited for backup. But I didn't…"

"We got it." Was all she said, stern look still on her face.

Her long sinuous tail lashed behind her, betraying her true feelings, and he took a second to ask "Got it? Great, what did we get?"

She rolled her eyes and said "What kind of medication are you on? We got the evidence, thanks to your little gift for me and this place mostly untampered with. We now have the evidence we needed to move on Slake." She finished with a savage grin.

Balinski nodded and asked "Oh, well now what? When are we moving in on him?"

She passed a long fingered hand through her hair and over her horns before she answered "I'm not sure. We need to gather the resources to perform a raid, but we can't wait so long that he manages to slip away. And then there's the matter of my best operative being down. So I want to wait at least a few days to see if they get themselves put back together." She said, gazing at him.

He smiled at her and said "Well that's no problem, give me a day or two and I can cover for them." He looked at her confused as she laughed musically.

She shook her head at him and asked "Who do you think I'm talking about, you idiot?" She continued to chuckle as he frowned.

"Wait. Are you talking about me? But I'm not an officer, I'm just a warden. A deputized civilian at the most." He protested.

She shook her long dark hair and stepped closer, looking him in the eyes as she said suddenly very serious "No. You are much more than that."

Her violet eyes were piercing as she scrutinized him, close enough to touch. He swallowed, suddenly nervous as her eyes bored into his soul. "I, uh, hey, do you want to go get a drink sometime? With me?"

She frowned slightly and leaned back. He breathed in, preparing to apologize for overstepping when she threw her head back and laughed. He furrowed his brows in confusion, not quite sure what was happening. 'Well, better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt.' He told himself.

She laughed for a minute before she sobered and then looked back at him. She grinned widely showing her flat incisors and said "Of course I want to. If I was any more obvious about it I would have had to paint it on my chest and dance for you." She said shamelessly.

He shook his head and asked "Obvious. But, you always seemed so standoffish. I was afraid to ask you before." He said with a cautious tone.

She asked him “And why ever would you think that, I as good as told you I was interested in getting to know you better the third time we met.”

He thought back on the conversation and nearly slapped himself in the forehead. “So that's what you meant by that. Oh I am a bit dense aren't I?” he said sheepishly to her.

She smiled wider and said “So, about that, what do you say to maybe meeting up on saturday night, I get off shift early and know the perfect place to grab a drink.”

He nodded and said “I'll bet you do. You’ve lived here your whole life right?”

She nodded and leaned against the wall near the door. She tilted her head back and rested the tips of her curved horns against the wall as she replied “You bet, all thirty three years of it.”

He nodded and said "Well, it's as good a place to grow up as any I guess. Could have been worse, you could have grown up on Dreyvan II." He blinked a few times as he thought about his childhood.

"Dreyvan II? Isn’t that the major world that got bombed to hel and invaded a few years ago? Oh shit, I'm sorry I didn't mean…" she said, covering her mouth at the casual mention of the destruction of his home.

Balinski patted Caesar's head a bit too aggressively making her growl in annoyance but he ignored her and said "Look Siyel, I'm not going to lie. I could care less about that degenerate hellhole of a world. It did nothing but take from me my whole life. First my father and older sister, then my mother. If I hadn't gotten out when I did, it would likely have taken me too." He said heavily.

He let out a breath as she watched him curiously. "I have your medical records, and your military service records. But I'm curious, how old are you Balinski, you have the demeanor of an aged man but the look of a young man. Your body was ravaged by war and your mind too. I apologize if it's too personal a question." She said, flicking her tail in his direction.

He watched the long appendage for a moment before he pointed at it and asked "I'll tell you if you tell me if you control your tail consciously. Is it like another arm? How does that work?" He asked her a bit excitedly. He had always been a big fan of alien biology as a kid and had never had the courage to ask that particular question to a Nerivith before.

"It's, well, it's my tail. I don't really think about it. I just do things and it's there. Kind of like how you don't think about your legs when you walk, it just kinda happens. Okay now spill it big boy." She said with an exaggerated tail motion in his direction.

He smiled and said "Fair enough I suppose. I'm twenty six, young I know." He added as she raised her eyebrows.

"I, uh. I didn't think you were so, young. I expected you to say thirty at least…" she trailed off.

He waved an arm and winced as it pulled on his bandages. Rubbing his chest with his other arm he said "Yeah, well I got an early start on life. Was working near full time before I was even fifteen. Got a job doing dishes at a nearby restaurant that didn't mind bending the rules a bit for cheap labor. I got paid shitty and it was under the table too, but it helped mom and me afford a cramped but comfortable little place. Then the war started and it all went to hell." He said with a snarl on his face, the hand that he was using to grip the cart with creaked ominously as he tightened his grip.

Caesar butted his side with her head hard enough to get him to let out a whoof of air and he glared at her. She just butted him again and then looked at Siyel for approval.

Siyel smiled and said "And how could I possibly forget about you Caesar. You are there for him all the time, what would he do without you right?" She laughed as Caesar nodded her head and yawned loudly. "When did this little cutie enter the picture?" She asked him as she moved closer to pet her.

He smiled as Caesar grumbled appreciatively at the attention and stretched. "I got her as a puppy when I was just a lad. I had been helping my mother pay the rent for a year and she used some of the money I gave her, she saved it up in secret and one day I came home to a shock. She had gone and bought an honest to goodness puppy for us, well, for me. But not just any old dog, a Huski, my favorite breed. They were originally bred for cold weather and to be able to run for days without rest. I think they used to use them to pull sleds or something, but that was a thousand years ago. They are one of the smarter breeds you can get, but also one of the most loyal and fluffy. A win all around if you ask me." He said as he looked at his oldest friend. She ignored his long speech and tried to eat Siyel's tail as it came too close.

Siyel flicked her tail away from the ravenous beast and giggled "I wish I had a dog like her." And continued to pet Caesar with her long fingered hands.

The door to the room opened and Frank walked in and announced "Alright, sorry to interrupt, but now's the time where mister tough guy gets to choose whether to come with us or not. Cause I'm tired as shit and I need my cart back." He said bluntly.

Balinski gingerly stood on his feet and sucked in a lungful of air, it didn't seem to hurt as bad as before, the quickheal infused bandages and pain killers were doing their work it seemed.

He unhooked the small monitor patches from his neck, chest, and arm and placed them on the cart before he said "I am good to go now. Thanks doc."

The small Slaaveth man snorted and motioned for Qui to help him move the cart out of the room.

Balinski shuffled out of the way and said "Hey, thanks for everything Frank. My name is Balinski by the way. Please, if you ever need anything let me know."

Qui looked him up and down and said "With a body like that I could find a use for you." And was promptly smacked on the shoulder by Frank.

He gurgled "Hey, be polite. And thanks for the offer Balinski. You had better take care of yourself, I don't want to have to lift you onto this cart again, you weigh a ton." He said only partially joking.

Continued in Part 6