River's Run(14)

“She found me. She made it to the shuttle bay. I have not had a chance to talk with her about why it took so long for her to make it there. I suspect she had to find another way after the ventilation system she was traveling through was blocked.” Torak said impatiently waiting for the lift to stop at the medical level.



Striding down the corridor, Torak walked into medical yelling for the healer. He gently laid River down onto one of the medical unit’s bed smoothing back her hair.



“My Lord, how may I help you?” Shavic asked. Shavic was the resident healer on board the warship. A tall, slim man in his mid-thirties, he had a gentle, calm manner that worked well with the crew. His ability as a healer was often sought after by commanders of warships traveling for long periods in space.



“I need you to examine the female and make sure she is unhurt.” Torak answered roughly. He needed to know she would be alright. Until he knew he would not leave her side.



Nodding, Shavic pulled a large cylinder cover over River’s body. “Do you know what species she is?” Shavic asked curiously as he studied the female’s soot covered features.



Torak frowned, he hadn’t thought about that. He would need to find out from the other two females what species they were. He had assumed since she looked close enough to theirs she was compatible. He could not imagine being so attracted to a species that was not.



Shaking his head, he replied softly, “No, I do not know. I assumed she was close to our own from her general appearance. She is smaller, more delicate looking than our women but other than that she seems similar to our own.”



In general, women in the Kassis system were taller by almost a foot averaging around the same size as the males. The women normally were given duties within the household and did not work outside of their houses which were made up of many different family units. Devoting themselves to the arts, family, and taking care of the needs of the men, the women accepted it was the males who were the warriors and protectors. The females rarely left their house without the escort of a male. It was just safer that way. A female could request a house to accept her into it. If the house accepted her, the female was given a specific job to do. Never before had Torak seen a female warrior such as River and her sisters.



“I will do the best I can to see if she has any injuries.” Shavic replied.



Shavic ran several scans over River not finding anything that looked too unusual. She had no broken bones or other injuries. He was a little concerned about her lungs as she appeared to have suffered some smoke inhalation. He went ahead and did a repair to clear them.



“Other than exhaustion, I believe the female is well.” Shavic said with a smile as he watched the look of relief flash over his commanding officer’s face.



Torak listened in relief as Shavic gave his report on River. He turned when he heard her moan, softly walking over to stand near her.





River moaned again softly, turning her head from side to side. She was so tired but she felt like she had to wake up. Something had happened. She moaned again as she tried to remember. She had been trapped in the ventilation system. She remembered having to find a different way to the shuttle bay. The shuttle bay, she remembered it and Torak. He had been there along with another of those huge creatures then she had thrown her sword.



River’s eyes popped open when she tried to roll over only to find she was trapped in some kind of cylinder shaped object. Struggling she tried to pull her arms up enough to get her palms flat against the top to push it off of her. Her breathing picked up as she began to panic.



“River, all is well. The healer is just making sure you are not injured.” Torak said calmly stroking River’s hair trying to sooth her.



River glanced wildly from Torak to Shavic and back again. Breathing heavily she whispered hoarsely, “Get me out of this thing.”



Torak nodded to Shavic who raised the cylinder off of River. The moment there was enough room to roll River did dropping to the floor and pulling one of the knives from her boot. Still in a crouching position, she moved back along the bed holding the knife out low and slightly to the left of her never taking her eyes off of either man.



“River, you are safe.” Torak said calmly, watching every move River made.



“So you say. Where are Jo and Star?” River demanded. She was still disoriented and was upset she didn’t know where she was. How long had she been out? Looking around the room she knew it wasn’t like any of the rooms on the warship she had just spent three weeks learning every nook and cranny about.



“I will take you to them. Just put the knife away.” Torak said moving slowly towards River.