The screams jolted Dr. Faulkerson. Weak as he was, he struggled out of the stretcher he was being carried in, and stood up. He saw the rebel troops advancing, while the allied troops, who were already on board the helicopters, got the weapons they found in the Comanche and jumped out to defend the orphans and residents who were with them. A gunfight ensued. The rebel troops, not knowing full artillery of their enemy, only brought their guns and AR-15's. One by one, they went down like flies, but not without casualties on the allied troops and Marauder teams, as well.
To his horror, he saw a rebel soldier get away from the skirmish and ran to where Bara'ah was. She was also in a stretcher, being hurried to the helicopter, while the Comanche team tried to protect her. But the two men carrying her were hit by the other rebels, thus letting go of the stretcher. Bara'ah fell to the ground. The rebel soldier saw her, and started sprinting to where she was. Dr. Faulkerson saw his face, and what was painted all over it -- a determination to inflict pain, to kill.
With a sudden surge of strength, he grabbed the Parasniper from one of the Marauder teams and runs to where Bara'ah was, trying to shoot the rebel soldier.
Dr. Gupta, who was already in the helicopter, suddenly yelled, "Ric!!! Ric!!! Watch out!!!" Dei Maria heard Sameer's cry. She saw the rebel who was about to shoot Bara'ah, and another one, trying to aim at a struggling Dr. Faulkerson. Could she possibly save them both? They were too far apart to conjure a protective shield to protect them both.
She had to try something. "You're not dying today, not today," she vowed.
She, then, started feeling more fire coursing through her hands as she conjured the particle shield. Unsure of what was happening to her, she stretched out her hands. To her surprise, not one, but two shields of different forms came out. The first one was shaped like a protective bubble around Bara'ah, deflecting the bullets from the rebel's machine gun. The second was like a large shuriken, knocking off the weapons from the rebel's hands, thus saving Dr. Faulkerson.
Dr. Faulkerson, upon seeing Bara'ah safe, fell to the ground. Dei Maria ran to Dr. Faulkerson, with Colonel Lone and Lieutenant Rodriguez, carrying a stretcher. She bent down to where Dr. Faulkerson was, and tried to wake him up.
"Dr. Faulkerson? Dr. Faulkerson, wake up. We're getting you out. Please wake up."
Dr. Faulkerson opened his eyes, and breathed a word Dei Maria didn't understand.
"Makhlisi."
Then, Dr. Faulkerson closed his eyes again.
"Dr. Faulkerson," she whispered. "Ric -- hang in there. Please."
They carried him to the Comanche, where Dr. Gupta was waiting. Dei Maria climbs in, closed the door, and signalled to Colonel Khan to fly them to the UAE. As the Comanche made its way out of the airstrip, she saw the other Comanche helicopters begin their ascent.
She sighed a deep sigh of relief. The orphans were saved, so were the troops, the residents, the teams, Dr. Gupta and Dr. Faulkerson. Dei Maria, then, slumped down the Comanche in exhaustion. She looks at Dr. Faulkerson, who was being attended to by Dr. Gupta and some other personnel. She looked at her hands. Two particle shields. How could that have happened? She's only been able to conjure one from the time she joined the order. Why was there a sudden surge of fire before the two particle shield were conjured? How was it possible?
At that moment, she remembered Abbot Antony's words when they were in the crypt, where her mother's tomb was -- what he said about her mother.
"As an oblate, she knew she had special abilities. But those abilities only came out in full force once she met her soulmate."
The double shield, the sudden surge in power like she never felt before -- they happened today.
They happened only today.
She instinctively clutched the cool medallion hanging on her neck, and then, she looked at Dr. Faulkerson.
Her medallion seemed to be slightly warmer. She saw a faint gleam in his medallion, as well.
Then, she realised it.
It was all joy, and all sadness, at the same time.
"There is a rule, though, to this 'soulmate system', as you call it. If you decide to come together with your soulmate, and the soulmate happens to be an oblate, the soulmate will lose his or her abilities, and die."
She met her soulmate, who she must never be with.
Trying to shake off the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her, she turned to Colonel Lone, who was seated beside her.
"Hey, Lone," she said. "Do you know what 'makhlisi' means?"
Aditya Lone replied, "Yeah, sure I do. It's Arabic."
"What does it mean?"
"'My saviour.'"
