CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 2: A Captain's Journey

72 ∞ Feeling of Thunder

Ayla glanced at Lina, but she was staring at the waterfalls.

"What do you mean? I hardly know him."

Lina met her gaze. "I mean, I know you carry the Burden not because of our traditions, but for him alone... You can't fool me, Ayla. We've known each other for too long. And I want you to know he put himself at grave risk to save you."

Ayla's heart skipped a beat in fear. "What do you mean 'he put himself at grave risk'? What did he do?"

"We had to take you to a special room to give you the Nanos. I overheard the Captain calling it the Emergency Navigation System when he was talking to Ahmid. He had to stay with you alone during the procedure. Afterwards, he carried you out... but then he collapsed and-"

"Collapsed?" Ayla stared at her in shock.

"Yes, he collapsed, and Ahmid demanded the ship tell him what happened."

"Canaisis. Her name is Canaisis, remember?"

"Right. Sorry, it's gonna take me a while..."

"Go on." Ayla twisted around to give Lina her full attention.

"Canaisis explained that the Nanos you received, they were created from the two-dimensional particles comprising all the subatomic particles that make up the Universe... each Nano bonded to the individual subatomic particles of your atoms. That's why we had to go to that room."

Lina continued to stare over the water, her expression sad. "Basically, this ship-I mean Canaisis-had to open a rift, a rift between dimensions, to access the two-dimensional plane. The room you were in could only shield one Human." She turned to meet Ayla's gaze. "The Captain had to stand outside of that shielding."

Lina stopped talking, and after a moment, Ayla realized it was to give her time to think. Gareth had stood in a dimensional rift to save her life! The understanding hit her with mixed emotions, but she could feel guilt and shame coloring Lina's feelings, and she wanted to know why.

"You mean he risked his life for me?"

"I don't know. But I know he absorbed enough energy to kill a room full of people, and that's why he collapsed. Ask Canaisis."

«Is this true, Canaisis?» Ayla thought.

«Lina has most of it correct. The Captain and I discussed it thoroughly, in detail, and ultimately the choice was his. You see, your body needed to maintain contact with me throughout the process. Since you were unconscious, he chose to guarantee your safety personally.»

«You mean he risked his life?»

«There was a risk involved, but probability was on our side. The final decision was his to make.»

Lina observed her patiently, waiting.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ayla asked Lina.

Lina lowered her gaze. "Because when it happened, I didn't care. I didn't care about him... as long as you lived. But now, now I realize it does matter. It matters to you, and I never want to hurt you. I thought it might give you something to think about to know that he cares about you as much as you do him."

Ayla could feel guilt emanating from Lina.

"And... I'm sorry I didn't care if he died," Lina added softly. She raised her gaze to the waterfalls.

Ayla turned to stare out at the falls as well, stunned. He risked his life. And these Nanos Lina described, they were much more than she could ever imagine. She'd thought she'd received an injection of medical Nanos. But bonded to the sub-particles of her atoms?