So far, they had undergone many of the tests he had warned them about, and were due to be released in a few days. He guided the craft towards the medical facility where they were.
At the underground building, he parked the craft and marched along well-lighted corridors to the humans' rooms. They had been placed in robotic cocoons that monitored their functions, technicians and doctors attending them. Tallyn entered Rayne's room and gazed down at her. She looked pale and a little gaunt under the harsh lights, one side of her head plastered with regeneration jelly. Tubes entered her nose and probes poked from her skin like obscene spines.
A doctor came to his side. 'Commander Tallyn. Good of you to visit us again.'
'How are they?'
'In excellent health.'
'You've finished the implants, I see.'
The doctor nodded. 'Yes, yesterday. Their immune systems are responding well to the vaccines, and our tests are almost finished.'
'When will they be released?'
'In a few more days, if the council approves. We want to wait for the implants to heal so they won't have headaches.'
Tallyn glanced at the pasty-faced doctor, hating him and his entire breed. Technicians were devoid of caring or compassion, the sort that would perform torturous and often useless experiments on helpless animals if it was allowed. The man's hair was almost monotone, indicating his low cast.
'How thoughtful of you,' Tallyn muttered.
'Well, the council members thought -'
'Spare me.' Tallyn raised a hand. 'I know what the council ordered, and it had nothing to do with thoughtfulness. You'll inform me when they're ready to be awakened, then I'll take over their care. Do you understand?'
'Certainly, Commander.'
'And under no circumstances are they to regain consciousness while you lot are poking them with needles.'
'Of course not.'
'Good.' Tallyn left, angrier with himself than the doctor. At times like this, he wished he did not have to follow the council's orders. It would have given him immense satisfaction to release the humans today. He was responsible for their predicament, and knew they would blame him for whatever was done to them. As he headed for the exit, he consoled himself with the fact that, had he left them on their world, they would have suffered a far worse fate.
Rayne woke with a pounding ache just above her left ear. Grimacing, she sat up and rubbed the tender area. Swinging her legs off the soft bed, she gazed around. The room was furnished with the same sparse, functional furniture and pale walls as the ship. Rawn snored on a bed across the room, and she stood up, fighting a wave of dizziness. He woke with a snort when she shook him, and clutched his head with a grimace as he sat up. She wondered if she looked as pale and gaunt as he did. Odd that he rubbed the same spot she had. She looked around as the door opened to admit Egan, who wore a broad smile.
'Have you slept well?' he enquired.
Rawn frowned. 'How long were we unconscious?'
Egan looked a little uncomfortable. 'Five days. It was necessary to carry out the tests and vaccinations painlessly, you see.'
'What did they do to us?'
'Nothing harmful.'
'Did any of the tests include sticking red hot pokers in our heads?' Rawn snarled.
'Ah, you have headaches.' Egan dug into his pocket and took out two apparently empty plastic bubbles, which he held out. 'Here.'
She took the bubble and studied it. 'What am I supposed to do with this?'
'Oh, here, I'll show you.' Egan took the bubble and held it under her nose. 'Now, breathe in.'
As she did, he popped the bubble. A strange, numbing scent invaded her nose, and the pain in her head vanished. Rawn popped his bubble and experienced the same rush of relief, judging by his blissful expression. Egan was eager to bring them whatever they wished, and they sat down to a gourmet meal followed by party snacks and tasty treats they had never dreamt to taste. It distracted them from the unpleasant aspects of their situation, and when they were full, they went back to sleep.
The next day continued the trend, and Egan answered questions willingly, but they had no way of knowing how truthfully. He brought them holofilms and played the helpful host, but Rayne disliked his condescending air and stilted speech. The food restored their strength and the films were educational, but the rooms had no windows and the door was locked. After several fruitless hours trying to open it, they gave up.
The following day, Rayne demanded to see Tallyn, and Egan balked. He claimed the commander was busy, and would be for some time. Rawn gripped Egan's his collar and almost lifted him off the floor, evincing a reluctant promise to try to contact Tallyn. It took another day and several more threats before Tallyn came, and when he did, Egan looked unhappy. Then they learnt that the commander had come of his own accord, to check on them.
When Rawn told him about their request, Tallyn's brows knotted, and Egan was subjected to the commander's icy glare. 'Who ordered this duplicity, Ensign?' he demanded.
'The council, sir.'
'Of course. Who else? Inform them that I'm taking the humans to my dwelling, where they can stay for the time being. They can't be kept in this… prison.'
'But sir, they have to be monitored.'
Tallyn's brows rose. 'They've been immunised, and they're fully recovered from the ordeal, it seems. Why must they be monitored?'
'The council ordered -'
'I'll deal with the council, Ensign. Dismissed.'
Egan, who had a pale complexion with a silvery sheen, turned an interesting shade of pink, then retreated.
Tallyn eyed the humans. 'It's a good thing I have some authority over the more junior staff members.'
Rawn said, 'I was getting sick of that pompous little fart.'
Tallyn appeared to riffle through a mental dictionary before understanding dawned. 'An apt description. The council, it seems, intended to keep you in a comfortable, if sterile environment, but I think you'd rather see more of your new home.'
'Damned right,' Rawn muttered.
'Good.'
The door opened for Tallyn, and he led them down a corridor where several white-suited men watched them pass, muttering and frowning. Rayne stepped out into the open air and gazed around at Atlan's alien beauty. The sun was a hot white spot beyond the glowing roof of clouds, and verdant landscape stretched away in every direction. Only an occasional tower broke the carpet of greenery, and the air was sweet and rich.
After a few minutes, Tallyn led them to a disk-shaped craft, and they sat in the two seats behind his. They skimmed away over the trees at an amazing speed, and Rayne studied the well-hidden buildings that nestled in the pristine forest below.
Rawn asked, 'How can billions of people live in such a sparsely built up world?'
Tallyn glanced back at them as the craft swooped between two tall trees. 'Billions of people don't live here. They live on fifty-two planets all over the galaxy. We're always colonising new planets, as long as they're not already inhabited by intelligent life forms.'
'What about the animals?' Rayne asked, gulping as they skimmed past a tree trunk with inches to spare.
'We don't destroy the ecology; we live in harmony with it. The animals have no fear of us because they have no reason to.'
'But we've been eating meat,' Rawn said.
'That's grown in bio tanks, not from raising and slaughtering animals.' He swooped and swung the hover car,
