Lily observed the waiting room of the flagship’s infirmary. The pristine white space was sanitary and sterile, with soft white lights that used photoscopic technology to eliminate the effects of night-blindness and vision-induced color bleed. It was more advanced than any hospital she’d ever experienced back on the planet.
“Miss Whent?” The doctor came out. He was clad in a multi-purpose unisuit and carrying a waterproof datapad. “The results are back.”
Lily felt her nerves flutter. He didn’t seem happy. “And?”
“And...by our tests, your psionic abilities should be completely functional.”
Lily bit her lip. “Well, they aren’t. What the hell did Vergil do to me?”
“I don’t know,” the doctor consoled. “But it’s nothing medical.”
“Well, then what am I supposed to do?” Lily balled her fists. “Kalis brought me on board to revolutionize your medical facilities with my abilities. What use am I if I don’t have those?”
“I don’t know, I’m sorry.” The doctor returned to his business, leaving Lily exasperated and frustrated.
She marched out of the infirmary, shooting a glare at a crewman who had the misfortune of walking past the door right as she was leaving. As soon as Vergil is dead, her only claim to fame is her healing powers. If she had any hope of rescuing Ejlert, she’d need to figure out what the hell is blocking those, sooner rather than later.
She found Foley drinking in the technical manuals and logs on the warship's computers. "You look like you're keeping entertained," she remarked idly.
"This is amazing!" he breathed. "The technology on this ship is off the charts. 3D replication of any material, cold fusion, infinite food...surprised that these people are so barbaric considering they've basically got a utopia up here. Did you know Kalis assumed control by backstabbing his former commander? And so did Carrack. And practically all of the senior officers. I'm lucky I'm bottom of the totem pole."
Lily pursed her lips. "Go back to the technology. How are they holding Vergil and team prisoner?"
Foley switched windows. "Um, Vergil and Triste are in restraining pods, the rest are more traditionally incarcerated in the brig. Looks like Vergils' being interrogated right now. But I think you'll find this most interesting." He shifted to a related tab. "Couple of the others are being held in a police station on the ground. Looks like they pissed off the coast guard, completely separate incident. They're not even flagged as being involved with Vergil and the others, I don't think anyone knows who they are."
Lily noticed Marie's and Axel's names among the list. "Hmm. Maybe we could work with that. Can we contact that station?"
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Axel, Flora, Anne, Marita, Marie, Rio, and Rose were rolled into the infirmary strapped securely to gurneys. They wore only thin hospital gowns, and a pair of armed security guards flanked them carrying heavy caliber rifles. "Ma'am. The prisoners you requested for experimentation."
Lily nodded as she walked out of her office. "Ah, excellent. Thank you."
"One last thing," the guard handed her a promissory warning. "Carrack was not pleased with the fact that you bypassed the Chief Medical Officer when requesting these test subjects. In the future, any further breaches of rank will result in swift disciplinary action."
"Of course." Lily could sense a threat despite the politeness in his tone. She glanced at the figures. "I will thank the admiral at the next opportunity for authorizing this. I believe that experimenting on these lowlifes will allow me to unlock my psionic powers."
"So does he. Which is why he's giving you a second chance." The guards turned to leave, their last words echoing as the door slammed shut behind them. "Dispose of the survivors when you are done. Don't disappoint the admiral again."
