Chapter Seven
They arrived at the Moon consulate a little over an hour later. Folding took little time, but it required being out of the range of any nearby planets or gravitational fields, along with taking time to plot the safest route. It wouldn’t do to fold into the middle of a black hole. They crossed the last forty million miles on engine propulsion after folding near Mars and far from the asteroid belt.
As soon as they landed, Ysaak took her to Dr. Wy in the medical facility, and Damon was right beside her to receive treatment at Taleeza’s tearful insistence. “Honestly, I feel fine now,” she said as he led her into an exam room with Dr. Wy following behind them.
“It doesn’t matter if you do. We need to make sure he didn’t do anything else to you.”
With a sigh, she accepted the wisdom of Ysaak’s words, though she was anxious to meet with the leaders of Earth and deliver the bad news, hoping someone would have a plan that would help give them an edge over the Dazon Empire.
Dr. Wy took several readings via multiple tests, including a full body scan, and the exam lasted for ten excruciating minutes of silence. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as the minutes ticked past, and Dr. Wy’s expression grew grimmer, though he refused to answer any of the questions she asked. All he said was, “Wait for all the results please, Ambassador Williams.”
Finally, he gestured for them to follow him from the exam room back to his office, which was equipped with myriad Dazon technology for which she had no name. When they were seated across from him at the desk, the doctor collapsed into his chair, looking wan. “I don’t believe it. I thought it was impossible.”
“That what was impossible?” asked Ysaak before she could.
Dr. Wy looked directly at her. “I’m not sure how he did it, but Ha appears to have recoded your DNA. You now have the genetic anomaly that causes Kaiser’s Syndrome and makes you a genetic pairing for Dazon males.”
She gasped softly, her head whirling. “No, that can’t be.”
“It’s impossible. He was only with her for a few minutes, and all he did was give her an injection of nanotechnology,” added Ysaak.
A ragged gasp escaped her, and she clapped her hand over her mouth for a moment to regain control. “The dream, Ysaak.”
He turned his head to look at her with a small frown. “What dream?”
She looked up at him, feeling a bit shy in front of the doctor. “That night…when you…when I called you after I had the terrible nightmares. Do you remember that?”
The confusion faded from his expression, and anger took its place. “You dreamed Jorvak Ha was in your room.”
“At the time, I assumed it was simply an old night terror with a new face, but now I think he must have actually been there, and that was when he experimented on me or initiated the treatment—whatever he did to make me have Kaiser’s Syndrome. It all fits. I fell ill the next morning, and I had symptoms of Kaiser’s Syndrome. I was weak and shaky, and my legs didn’t function properly. For a while, they didn’t work at all… Not until he gave me the nanotechnology.”
Dr. Wy looked upset. “If he hadn’t given you the nanotechnology, the disease would have ravaged you. Being genetically induced, it appears your body had no time to adapt to the symptoms, so it caused a rapid progression of the disease. It didn’t do minor damage to your body over a period of years as it does to women born with Kaiser’s Syndrome. The process he initiated was like flipping on a switch, and your body couldn’t handle the overload.”
She scrunched her brow in concentration. “I remember something about a retro…”
“Retrovirus?” asked Wy, looking troubled.
“Yes, I think so.”
He sighed. “That was the delivery system he used to introduce the changes to your genetic code. The nanotechnology would have to be administered separately. They’re using two different technologies.”
Her stomach churned with nausea at the knowledge of what Ha had done to her. “You’re saying I have Kaiser’s Syndrome?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, but the nanotechnology is keeping you in a homeostatic state.”
“Unless he shuts off the nanotechnology by tracing its unique signature and suppressing it,” she said bitterly, recalling Ha had threatened Jada Washington with that, according to the woman’s debriefing of events Embeth had practically memorized in preparation for her mission.
Dr. Wy nodded, but gave her a small smile. “However, the nanotechnology can be reprogrammed to emit a new signal. It’s not as simple as he makes it seem to shut off the healing technology. It requires constant modification to elude the suppression signal, but it can be done, and in fact, the nanobots can be programmed to change their signature on a predetermined, cyclic, or random basis. There’s a solution to Ha’s threat.”
“So Embeth won’t fall ill again as long as no one tampers with her nanotechnology signature? Is that correct, Dr. Wy?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, though there is one more issue we must address.”
The doctor sounded concerned, but also seemed to feel something else she couldn’t quite place. In fear, she reached for Ysaak’s hand, squeezing it tightly as she prepared herself to hear something even worse than the news he had already revealed. “What is it, doctor?”
“You’re in the beginning stages of pregnancy, Ambassador.” He pressed a button on his tablet device, and a large three-dimensional scan appeared in front of them. He tightened the focus to show them a tiny growth in her uterus. She could barely make out anything, even with their advanced technology. “Are you sure? It doesn’t look like anything at all really.”
The doctor laughed. “That’s how most pregnancies began, Ambassador, but I’m positive you’re expecting. The blastocyst is approximately five or six days into development, so it’s a very recent pregnancy.” His eyes sparkled with happiness and a hint of speculation as his gaze darted to their joined hands before returning to hers. “Perhaps within the last day?” he suggested in a neutral voice. “Conception had to have occurred after Ha administered the retrovirus.”
Her cheeks felt warm as she remembered how much she had needed Ysaak on the journey back to Earth, and it was almost impossible to believe the sex they’d had two hours ago had resulted in a pregnancy, one that was already detectable via alien technology. “It’s amazing,” she said, gaze glued to the image of the blastocyst in front of her. The doctor zoomed in further, and she could make out what looked like several dozen cells encased inside the zona pellicuda, which still protected the cells. If she remembered biology class properly, the cells inside would break through the zona once they embedded into the lining of her uterus.
“Do you wish to continue?” asked Ysaak, sounding choked.
She looked at him with surprise. “With the pregnancy, you mean?” At his nod, she didn’t have to think about her response. “Of course I do.” Apprehension sent acid up her esophagus. “Don’t you?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “I do. Of course I do. I’m just concerned about the future, and your safety, along with his or her safety.”
Dr. Wy interjected, “I can tell you the gender, if you’d like to know?”
“Yes,” said Embeth and Ysaak simultaneously.
“The genetic profile indicates he is male.”
Though she was afraid of the future too, she couldn’t deny a surge of joy filled her. “Do you hear that, Ysaak? We’re having a little boy.”
Though he still seemed concerned, his gaze was soft, and a smile touched his lips. “Yes, our own little First Prince.” His gaze clouded. “Though I don’t know what the future holds for him now, or what title, if any, he’ll hold—not that it matters.”
“We can’t know anything for certain at the moment, but we can’t let the looming specter completely suck all the joy out of us, my love.” She squeezed his hand as she said the words, finding she believed them on a deep and instinctive level. There was fear, pain, and suffering coming, but there was still joy and love to balance it. “Are you happy at this moment?”
His gaze was firmly on the scan of their little blastocyst, and he seemed to have acquired new cells in just the last few minutes. “Yes, of course I am, my mate.”
“Then cling to it.” For the moment, they allowed themselves to focus on the happiness and release the fear.