Nikhil(39)

Mac never spoke to him again.

Yeah, her track record sucked, but at least, she'd never been considered a whore.

The sudden absence of sound followed by the click of the repair unit opening brought Mac's thoughts back to the present. She was on a planet called Pontus. She was lying in a deep-repair unit. Soon an 'educator' would be placed over her eyes. Nikhil had vowed it wouldn't be the same as with the Ganglians, but could she trust that? She knew she needed to do this, for everyone else. If she was going to help them, she needed information.

"Ash... Mackenzie." Luol moved to her side. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." She looked at Luol. "What exactly does this machine do?"

"It repairs whatever is wrong with you." He frowned at her question, then asked. "I take it you do not have machines like this on your Earth."

"No." She didn't expand further. "So it fixes everything?"

"The only thing it can't repair are severed limbs, fully-healed hard tissue injuries, and injuries caused by Tornian steel," Luol told her.

Mac understood severed limbs. She didn't care about whatever Tornian steel was. What she wanted clarification on was 'fully-healed hard tissue injuries'. It was important.

"So you're saying that it can't heal broken bones?"

"Of course, it can. It just can't repair what has already healed."

"But it can heal scars?" She looked to Nikhil's chest, suddenly realizing why there'd been no scars on it.

"As long as Tornian steel did not cause them, then yes. Soft tissue injuries are easily repaired."

"Why am I the only human you've treated so far?" she demanded.

"You were the only female we discovered, and you needed a great deal of time in the deep-repair unit. You will also need to use the educator, and that takes additional time. Because of that, it was decided that I should first treat those that were with the Zaludians the longest."

"And how was that decided?" she demanded.

"How was what decided?" Luol asked frowning.

"Who had been there the longest."

"We spoke to the others. They were able to tell us when they were captured."

"I see."

Luol's frown deepened. "Do you know something we do not?"

"Of course not," she instantly denied. "After all, I'm the 'species' that can't even tell you where her world is." She figured she had gathered all the information she could without putting her friends in jeopardy. "So where are we going to do this educator thing?"

"I thought you would be more comfortable on the couch in my office."

"Does my comfort really matter?"

"Of course, it does!" Luol looked from her to Nikhil in shock.

"The Ganglians forced their educator on one of their males," Nikhil told Luol quietly.

"On Craig," she told him.

"On Craig," Nikhil corrected, grateful that at least for a moment her gaze met his. "They then expected him to make sure the others used it or they threatened to kill them."

"It was forced on him?!!" Luol took a startled step back.

"Yes."

"And he suffered no ill effects?" Luol continued to question.

"Not that I noticed," she told him.

"Mackenzie experienced some discomfort when it was placed on her," Nikhil informed Luol, and his reward was the tightening of his Ashe's lips and her gaze leaving his.

"Discomfort?!!" Luol was immediately at Mac's side.

"It doesn't matter," she told Luol tensely.

"Of course it does!" Luol argued. "The educator should never cause any discomfort. I need to make sure no harm has been done to you."

"Shouldn't your repair unit have taken care of that?" she asked hitting her palm on the bed.

"Well... yes."

"Then there is no need for you to examine me and there was no reason to mention it," she glared at Nikhil.

"Luol needs to know what happened to you, Mackenzie," Nikhil told her quietly.

"Apparently, everyone needs to know what happened to me. And between you and Luol they will." Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she leveled herself up and jumped off. When her feet slipped on the cool floor, Nikhil was immediately there steadying her.

While she didn't jerk out of his arms, Mackenzie quickly stepped away, giving him a wary look then turned to Luol. "Where is this couch?"

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Luol showed her the educator, and she was surprised at how streamlined this one was. It was so different than the one the Ganglians had forced them to put on, but she couldn't stop the shudder of apprehension that ran through her at seeing it.

"Mackenzie?"