Thick as Thieves 2: Under Your Command

Chapter 2

The first thing Michael recognised was the air. Cool, clean in his lungs as he inhaled softly, awaking in a bed in the Infirmary.

It looked more or less like he remembered. Doctors, nurses, patients. Equipment still up and running, mostly. At least the technology reading his vitals seemed to still be working.

Elisabeth Shannon closed down the holographic readings, having noticed Michael coming round.

"Welcome back," she said, straight-faced. If she was happy to see him there was no way of telling. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've just woken up from a coma," groaned Michael, rubbing his eyes. "How long was I out?"

"About ten hours. Reilly and Curran found you early this morning."

"Ten hours?" Michael attempted to sit up, but was immediately halted by the extreme dizziness in his head and the aching pain in his muscles erupting all at once.

"Take it easy," Doctor Shannon advised him, gently pushing him back down into a horizontal position. "You were severely dehydrated. You must have been running around for days out there."

"Got a little lost," he croaked.

"Just save your strength. The Commander will want to speak with you."

She turned, about to leave, but instead she hesitated and turned back to face him, a curious look on her face. "Michael...where have you been? All this time...what happened to you?"

He broke her gaze, noticing a woman sat on the bed opposite, having her arm bandaged. She was staring at him. They all were.

But he was prepared for this. He knew it was going to be difficult coming back here after everything he had done.

But he had no choice.

He looked back up at Elisabeth as she waited expectantly for his answer, concern and curiosity etched into her features.

"When can I speak to the Commander?" he asked evasively. The idea of seeing him again made his insides twist unpleasantly. The last time they'd seen each other, he had sided with Lucas and united in their hatred of their father. He had thrown himself into a wormhole rather than subject himself to living under his father's rule. But now he had no choice but to speak to him. It was the whole reason he was here.

Elisabeth straightened up, frowning. "I'll let him know you're awake. It'll be quite a shock to him. We all thought you were dead."

"That's not surprising. I did walk into an untethered fracture and disappear for six months. I can see how you'd think I didn't survive, but I did." He noticed Elisabeth staring at him as if he'd grown another head or something. "What?"

"Six months?" she repeated, confused. "Michael, you were gone for a year."

This time Michael felt like he really had grown an extra head. "A year?" he whispered. He had been warned about this, but he never thought it could actually happen, especially by this much. A whole year. So much would have changed since he stepped through the portal. So much he would have missed...

"I'll get Commander Taylor," Elisabeth helpfully suggested, leaving Michael to absorb the new information.

~*~

The changes were subtle. It seemed most of Terra Nova's remaining resources had been designated to the Infirmary, but everything else Michael could now see was gradually diminishing. The market in particular seemed less vibrant and lively than it used to be. Fewer people, fewer stalls. It made sense that what people owned had become more valuable, and people were less willing to trade — unless they charged a higher price. There seemed fewer vehicles roaming about too, which made sense due to the colony's dwindling supply of power cells. The craters from the invasion still blemished the colony's earth. It looked like an attempt had been made at rebuilding, but with the lack of resources, it looked like they had struggled to repair everything completely. He regretted to think how much Lucas would enjoy seeing this.