Vareo had his claws dug deep into the estreld's gut while laughter reminded the youth that for every injury done to Lord Zorn, his own strange heat was healing him. They were both distracted with themselves to notice me come up behind. Vareo was glaring into his master's eyes. Lord Zorn was chiding with an amused tongue cluck. Neither of their exceptional hearing would hear my approach among their own loud heartbeats and raging tempers. I slowed my own blood to less than what most species would deem alive.
"Why?" Vareo demanded.
"We can't afford to risk the spread of the virus, you know this. The birds know of the risks, and the consequences of not following protocol when returning to the ship."
"No," Vareo gritted back. "You can wait. There's a cure."
"My poor son, it isn't just about saving them from their mistakes. You know this. They've grown complacent. That's why good birds are already dead. You think they should live after being responsible for ignoring my rules? For putting the entire crew at risk? They failed and the rest of the birds will learn how costly disobedience is."
Vareo saw me hovering with my tail slowly readying to strike. A slow smile lifted his lips and his eyes turned black as he allowed his anger to simmer enough for his blue, glowing runes along his arms to fade.
"Whoever was responsible is likely dead already. What you're doing is murder, not justice, and not even revenge. You, Lord, are no longer a bird of Zorn. You've flown too high to be one of us anymore," Vareo said with venom, and gave me a nod.
I wrapped my tail around the Lord's throat and shoved the shirt at his mouth to let the poison soak in. Vareo growled as he lunged his weight into his claws to dig farther into Lord Zorn's gut.
Voices over the intercom chanted from what I assumed were birds from across the ship. "One of us. One of us."
Blood dribbled from Lord Zorn's loh as his body shook and convulsed. We both stood there until the last twitch faded from his cooling body.
"Perhaps this time, we should make sure he doesn't pray for more blessings from the goddess," I suggested.
Vareo forced a chuckle. "I hear the incinerator is great for unwanted viruses."
I found myself releasing the tension in my shoulders with a laugh before I redirected back to the mission, "If you have access to this ship's command, it would be quicker to connect with my ship and have them bring it here."
Vareo nodded, an uncomfortably tight line replaced his smile. He tapped his comm and commanded, "Genbi, connect with the lizard's ship."
"One of us," the intercom continued to chant.
Genbi's voice was heard from Vareo's personal comm, "As you command, the voice of one will be honored."
"Fuck off," Vareo snapped, but there was a small smile barely imperceptible.
The sooner we got this infected sector injected with the Ganpan-fal, the sooner I'd know whether it worked, and ask my treasure if she'd join me in retrieving Belder, and deciding where our final payload of the nanobots would best be distributed.
Chapter fourteen
Hazel
Iwatchedthemonitorwithrelief as the last bird of Zorn was released from the medbay quarantine. The Ganpan-Fal worked...
Many died from the virus, and many would never truly be the same. The virus, Solusgors, was already too far along, and their physiology was completely altered. The only thing kept was their own consciousness.
"Are you sure it's okay to allow them to leave quarantine?" I asked Yueril. "Their bodies aren't their own species anymore... Only their skulls are the same. Their DNA is warped forever."
The host skin was peeled off if they were too far along in the process, and what was underneath was something entirely different. The skin was hard like rock, and a strange purple which I knew was simply a color associated with a Lightwave that my eyes couldn't process between the red and blue waves. The color didn't exist on Estreldez, at least, not that we’ve discovered. Nothing reflects between those waves within the light of our moons. It was simply the best way to describe such a phenomenal sight.
"It's unlikely they'd be able to reproduce, or infect someone else at this point," he explained.
The medic agreed, "Everyone with any signs of the virus has had their mating organs removed for extra precaution, but scratches, blood transfer, and even biting have been tested by volunteers that wished for someone who was infected to be released."
I nodded. "The nanobots don't seem to replicate beyond the host, though, at least not without a blood contact."
Yueril agreed, "They can't replicate without a host."
This was disconcerting. "You'll need more of the nanobots to defend against the virus. They don't replicate outside a host, and once they've been absorbed and depleted from Delta-Fal, then you're relying on blood transfers and future spawn carrying the nanobots."
"It's not perfect," he admitted. "But it seems to be working."
