Read Online Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) by Nicole Krizek - Free Book Online
Authors: Nicole Krizek
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had to be seething. The tone of his voice supported Karo’s mental image.
“I still have the authority to detain him.”
Jayda replied to him in a serious tone. “General, are you insinuating that protocols enacted by the royal family concerning first contact with unknown alien races are null and void? If so, I’m sure the High Council will be very eager to voice their opinion on the matter.”
Score one for the princess. She was basically asking the general if he was going to disregard protocols that her own family had established; protocols that were enforced by some sort of governing body.
Karo strained to hear the general’s reply, but Doctor Notani appeared at his side. Her words drowned out what was being said in the hall.
“Please lie down,” she instructed him.
Damn! He was dying to know what the general was going to do. His life literally depended on it. Would they send him away? Make him leave his ship?
The doctor initiated the medical device from a nearby console, and a scanner descended from the ceiling.
“Try to remain as still as possible,” she told him. “The scan will be completely painless.”
The device made low sounds as it passed over his body. The recorded scans were illuminated on several screens in front of the doctor, and Karo had to be reminded to lie still when he turned his head to look at them. He remained as immobile as he could, but nothing could stop the whirling inside his mind.
He couldn’t believe that in the span of just a couple short hours, he’d gone from his ship of isolation, to suddenly being on-board one with a species that his race had never encountered; from solely relying on himself, to having his entire future in the hands of an unknown alien people.
At least he seemed to have a couple of advocates on his side.
“You may sit up now,” Doctor Notani instructed.
Pulled from his thoughts, Karo got off of the table and uneasily watched the growing crowd of doctors that had gathered around the monitors showing his scans. Several spoke low to one another and pointed to various images, while others stood with their brows knit deep in thought. Either they were intrigued by his anatomy, or there was something wrong with him.
“What’s the matter?” Karo asked, unable to wait any longer. “Did traveling through the fold damage me?”
“I don’t think so,” Doctor Notani replied as she approached him. “How long have you been living on your ship?”
“Twenty years, but most of that was spent in a regeneration chamber.”
“What does the chamber do?”
“It keeps my body in stasis and repairs any injuries I may have sustained.”
The doctor looked studious for a moment. “How long were you in stasis?”
“Approximately fifteen years total. Why? Is there something wrong?”
“I ran your DNA through our medical database but didn’t find a match.” Before he could panic she continued, “That only means that we’ve never met a Sirilian before. I have nothing to compare your physiology against, but I can still tell that you’ve sustained cellular damage. It’s possible that your stasis unit is degrading.”
Karo felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Jayda standing to his side. How long had she been there? The touch was reassuring—he welcomed it.
“The stasis units were developed to last for centuries. How can that happen?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will you be able to heal the damage?” Jayda asked.
“Yes, presuming his regeneration chamber has a record of his base point and we’re able to access it.”
“What is a base point?” Lukas asked, stepping to Karo’s other side.
“The base point is a record of Karo’s health before he departed Siril. It’s stored in the chamber’s memory core so it knew to what point his body should be restored.”
“So, it’s like a reset button?” Lukas asked.
“Yes, exactly. But we’ll need your permission to enter his ship and obtain the records.”
Lukas gave the doctor permission,
“I still have the authority to detain him.”
Jayda replied to him in a serious tone. “General, are you insinuating that protocols enacted by the royal family concerning first contact with unknown alien races are null and void? If so, I’m sure the High Council will be very eager to voice their opinion on the matter.”
Score one for the princess. She was basically asking the general if he was going to disregard protocols that her own family had established; protocols that were enforced by some sort of governing body.
Karo strained to hear the general’s reply, but Doctor Notani appeared at his side. Her words drowned out what was being said in the hall.
“Please lie down,” she instructed him.
Damn! He was dying to know what the general was going to do. His life literally depended on it. Would they send him away? Make him leave his ship?
The doctor initiated the medical device from a nearby console, and a scanner descended from the ceiling.
“Try to remain as still as possible,” she told him. “The scan will be completely painless.”
The device made low sounds as it passed over his body. The recorded scans were illuminated on several screens in front of the doctor, and Karo had to be reminded to lie still when he turned his head to look at them. He remained as immobile as he could, but nothing could stop the whirling inside his mind.
He couldn’t believe that in the span of just a couple short hours, he’d gone from his ship of isolation, to suddenly being on-board one with a species that his race had never encountered; from solely relying on himself, to having his entire future in the hands of an unknown alien people.
At least he seemed to have a couple of advocates on his side.
“You may sit up now,” Doctor Notani instructed.
Pulled from his thoughts, Karo got off of the table and uneasily watched the growing crowd of doctors that had gathered around the monitors showing his scans. Several spoke low to one another and pointed to various images, while others stood with their brows knit deep in thought. Either they were intrigued by his anatomy, or there was something wrong with him.
“What’s the matter?” Karo asked, unable to wait any longer. “Did traveling through the fold damage me?”
“I don’t think so,” Doctor Notani replied as she approached him. “How long have you been living on your ship?”
“Twenty years, but most of that was spent in a regeneration chamber.”
“What does the chamber do?”
“It keeps my body in stasis and repairs any injuries I may have sustained.”
The doctor looked studious for a moment. “How long were you in stasis?”
“Approximately fifteen years total. Why? Is there something wrong?”
“I ran your DNA through our medical database but didn’t find a match.” Before he could panic she continued, “That only means that we’ve never met a Sirilian before. I have nothing to compare your physiology against, but I can still tell that you’ve sustained cellular damage. It’s possible that your stasis unit is degrading.”
Karo felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Jayda standing to his side. How long had she been there? The touch was reassuring—he welcomed it.
“The stasis units were developed to last for centuries. How can that happen?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will you be able to heal the damage?” Jayda asked.
“Yes, presuming his regeneration chamber has a record of his base point and we’re able to access it.”
“What is a base point?” Lukas asked, stepping to Karo’s other side.
“The base point is a record of Karo’s health before he departed Siril. It’s stored in the chamber’s memory core so it knew to what point his body should be restored.”
“So, it’s like a reset button?” Lukas asked.
“Yes, exactly. But we’ll need your permission to enter his ship and obtain the records.”
Lukas gave the doctor permission,
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