The Distant Echo

An Unfamiliar Piece

Fog thrust Alex forward at impossible velocities. Long straight distances were suddenly interrupted by sharp and spinning turns. Claustrophobic terror settled in his stomach like a lead balloon, so noxious that death would have been preferable.

Coalescing into a thick cloud wall, the fog brought Alex to a stop. The fog began to vent, and muffled, but tormented noises grew more distinct. The tunnel roof opened, and light flooded the tube — Alex realized the tunnel contained other Reptilians, one in front of the other, some of them dead, while others writhed about.

A slender column descended from the ceiling, and two chrome swing arms came out of it. Magnetic energy made them glow, and the hooks lurched to meet the swing arms, static electricity blazing across his body. The column moved, and the hooks captured his skeleton from inside, pulling him upward. Once clear of the tunnel, the swing arms moved him to an alcove in the wall.

Or was it a pod? Alex couldn't decide. He watched the ceiling columns lift other Reptilians out of the tunnel, fixing them into place. Once more, his mind separated into distinct parts: fear, amazement, focused observance, and scientific interpretation. And, for a time, astonishment distracted from immediate circumstances.

An unfamiliar piece of his mind dominated the back. It embodied a vast depth — dark and conniving, brutal and inhuman. The foreign sounds, that savage language, flowed through his mind to be consumed by the depth. The Echo returned it like a boomerang, now as words Alex understood.

The ship suffered moderate damage. My tactical detachment failed to anticipate this attack. When I am clear of the Medical Bay, I should execute many warriors for this embarrassment.

From a slumping position, the column lifted the hooks, stretching him fully within the pod. Pain flared and his legs shook. The column receded into the ceiling and another, thicker ceiling column descended, immersing him in red light.

The light hurt his eyes, and Alex tried to block it with his hands, but his left arm did not respond. His right arm moved, but a sick grating sound came from it, and he saw a jagged bone jutting through blood-soaked skin.

My body abounds with damage, and I must be repaired with haste. I will not allow another warrior to replace me. These other Reptilians are weak. They deserve to die and be thrown into the digester. I am not weak. I will command my ship and my warriors, and I will be victorious.

The Echo took control and spoke: "Medic, I am Lead Commander of the Conquest, and if I am not repaired this very moment, I will destroy every Reptilian in this room!"

A spherical probe flew across the room and stopped at his pod. The center of the sphere opened, several chrome arms coming out and staging into position. Multicolored energy beams traveled the length of the pod, and a series of computer chirps sounded as the display next to the pod came to life.

A Reptilian medic came and acknowledged him by slapping its tail. The sphere retracted its arms and shot off to a different part of the room. The column moved closer and produced another burst of light, which the Reptilian seemed to control with an interface tablet. Alex saw an image appear next to the pod — a representation of the patient. Struck by confusion, he studied the image and wondered why it appeared to be a lizard.

The medic made metal bands close over the pod, incapacitating Alex's upper body, arms, and legs. A blue liquid fell, drenching him, followed by a sonic oscillation wave that removed it.

The wall panel next to the pod retracted, exposing various metal instruments. From the ceiling column, slender metal tubes shot out and drove deep into different points of his body. Swing arms came out from the column and moved to his fractured arm, grasping it, pulling it straight. Alex screamed and shook against the restraints as the bone broke more, tearing through undisturbed flesh, blood squirting out across the room.

The medic pulled a wicked instrument from the wall and activated it. Two manacles fired out, taking hold of both the injured and uninjured sections of his arm. A vibrating blade came forth and severed it completely.

Alex howled. The other Reptilians in the Medical Bay stopped and took notice. The arm-removing medic snickered, if that was possible for a lizard, and tossed the detached arm into a vat of flesh-digesting goo.

The medic used a laser emitter to shave the arm stump, cauterizing the wound and stopping the outpour of blood. Rancid flesh smoldered, and the medic attached a biomimetic gel membrane to it. Soothing cold muted the pain until the medic activated an energy beam that came from the ceiling column, discharging into the membrane. Acidic heat replaced the cold, and despite renewed wailing, it took mere minutes for a new arm to grow.