If You Asked Me To (UWOC)

Five

"Basil?"

"Hello, Tasha."

"I have something to tell you. Do you have some time to talk?" she asked in a tight voice.

"Of course. Did Tom and Serena find someone among the Kymari for me to talk to?"

"No. I just wanted to tell you something that happened a few years ago that is unknown outside the bonded dragonets. I need you to keep this secret. Can you promise me that?" 

I could hear she didn't want to have this conversation, but felt it was necessary.

"I will keep the secret."

"Do you remember when the rogue Votak group kidnapped my daughter and her handler a few years ago? They were the same group that sent the alien formula that created us." 

She stuttered for a moment before continuing. 

"Soranto knows we were born human, and he knows what the lab did to create the dragonets. He stated that if the Kymari or any other race found out, they would probably kill the original dragonets. Every galaxy has outlawed experiments of that kind. He destroyed the evidence to protect us and has not shared that secret, even with his wife."

I was too stunned to respond. Kill us? Because other humans experimented on us without our approval? How was that fair?

"We are having Soranto choose who you speak to because whoever it is may figure out that we were once human. I know you only agreed because you wanted to keep the wild flock safe, but If we pick the wrong individual, that won't matter."

"Tasha, what if I make a mistake that gets the flock killed?" 

My science was going to cause the death of the flock. My chest hurt. I couldn't do this. I knew my feelings flowed through the link, but I could do nothing to stop them.

"Basil, listen to me! We will save the Kymari and the flock! Soranto has a couple in mind who are research scientists. They have been working on this, and he believes they will keep our secrets. He has them coming over to his home tonight. I will let you know his thoughts once he talks to them. We will not allow you to speak to anyone who would cause us harm."

Wait a minute. I could do the same thing I did in the lab: keep tabs on their thoughts. Then I would know if they were figuring out a bit too much.

"Tasha, let me know what he thinks of these scientists. When he is up to it, please have him bring them to the park. Let me see them before he makes the final choice. I want to be a part of this decision, since it involves me."

It surprised me when she agreed.

After the mindlink dropped, I reviewed what I already knew from the Kymari conversation I had overheard in the park and the information I'd gotten from Tom and Tessa. I needed to find out if the Kymari who had gotten sick had any environmental factors in common. Had they eaten the same foods or visited the same places?

I was still worried, but my scientific background and urge to once again feel the high of solving a problem wanted me to do this. 

About a week later, Tessa told me Soranto and the researchers would visit the park soon. I told her to bring them to the benches in the clearing where the bonded animal handlers usually sat while their dragonets flew around with the wild ones. When they came, I stayed in the trees nearby and listened to them talk while I probed their inner thoughts.

"Soranto, I'm not sure why you brought us here," the male said.

"I spend a lot of time here, Thorn. Maybe there is something here that made me sick," Soranto stated.

While Thorn and his companion looked around, I probed carefully and opened my mind to its fullest extent. Maybe it was fate, maybe not, but it was the same pair I had eavesdropped on a month ago. Neither were terrible people. They looked at every tree and bush, pushing out some ideas and discarding others.

The female took inventory of what plants would cause what symptoms, while the male thought more broadly about what infections animals in the park could carry. 

They thought like me. 

I saw nothing that would cause us harm, but I expected that.

Kymari did not have the same issues as humans. They were competitive, but they would never do something underhanded to stop a promising colleague from succeeding. They would help each other or just try harder to win. In general, Kymari were excellent secret keepers when necessary.

I opened a link to Tessa and her mother, even though Tasha was not there. "I'll talk to them. How would you like to do this?"

"That depends on you. They are a married couple. If you are willing to go to their home, you could work on this continually. It may slow things down if they have to come to the park daily," Tasha said, and I could feel Tessa agreeing. "Will you leave the park?"

I hated making rash decisions, but I wanted this done so things would return to normal.

"If I go with them, will they bring me back to the park once we are done?"

"Did you ever think of becoming a bonded animal, Basil?"

"I have no interest in hunting Sicora, Tasha, so the answer is no."

"Then we will find a way to get you back if that is what you want." 

I could sense the truth in her statement, but somehow, I had the feeling that I would not be returning. But if this was the last thing I did, so be it.

"Do they know we are sentient?"

"Not yet."

I let the link drop, flew down to Soranto, and landed on his shoulder opposite the one where Tessa was perched.

"Well, hello there. You must be Basil," the handler said.

Here goes nothing... I thought before I opened a new mindlink carefully, including Soranto, Tessa, and the two Kymari seated with them. 

"Hello, Soranto. It is nice to meet you. Can you introduce me to your friends?"

"This is Thorn and Sebia. They are from the research department, attempting to determine what this virus is," he said casually, as if talking to a fire lizard and having it talk back is standard. I guess for him, it was.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." 

The couple was wide-eyed and stunned. Neither moved nor said anything.

"Elder Dairno knows the fire lizards are sentient animals, but no one else does," Soranto explained. "This is a very well-kept secret we are sharing with you. We ask that you keep this and anything else you may stumble across while working together on this project a secret. Basil has volunteered to help you find your answers."